


Déjà vu

by Gen717



Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-07
Updated: 2010-09-07
Packaged: 2017-10-11 14:14:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gen717/pseuds/Gen717
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lex discovers Chloe's ability, she's kidnapped, but experiments cause her to lose portions of her memory. Lex convinces her that they are friends. Gaining her confidence, Lex uses her skills to hunt down one of his greatest enemies; The Green Arrow. What Lex doesn't know, and Chloe doesn't remember, is that she has a few secrets of her own regarding the Emerald Archer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Déjà vu  
Chapter 1**

“Ollie. Wake up.”

“Mmmm. Not yet,” he murmured behind her above her head sleepily, pressing his lips against her hair, pulling her closer, his grip tightening around her.

“Everyone will be here soon,” she wiggled around, her bare bottom wedging against him, in an attempt to get up from the bed. She soon realized it was futile when his morning condition became more evident against her backside.

“Keep doing that,” he chuckled deeply. His hand moved down over her, fingers splaying low over her flat belly, then lower still over her mound, flexing his hips, his growing erection prodding her, seeking entrance between her legs. “We have time,” he whispered.

She wiggled enough to turn in his arms, smiling up at him. “Do you want them to catch us?”

He smiled lazily. “Maybe.”

“Are you ready for that? All the explaining we’ll have to do?”

“I think they’re already suspicious,” he whispered, lowering his head to nuzzle her, and kiss her just beneath her ear, his hand cupping and caressing her breast.

Chloe shivered. “Maybe.”

“Maybe I don’t care if they find out that we’re together.” But he did care. It was for her protection. The less people that knew of their relationship right now, the better. Her increasing involvement and connections to the League and to him could prove dangerous for her.

“Not yet. Soon we’ll tell them.” Her smile was like sunshine. “So, good morning, Arrow. Now go shower,” she whispered playfully, attempting to push him away half-heartedly.

“Good morning, Sidekick,” he whispered, soft lips against her throat.

“Ever think that maybe you’re **my** Sidekick?” She resisted the temptation to slide her leg up over his and wrap it around his hip. They needed to get up before the rest of the team arrived at the penthouse.

He kissed the curve of her neck. “Yes, but I’d never admit it to anyone.” He smiled, getting up from the bed and making his way toward the bathroom completely naked.

She admired the amazing view. “I thought so.” She rolled her eyes. “Men.”

“You know you love me anyway.” He paused for effect. “Sidekick.” He ducked in time as the flying pillow aimed at him, just missed his head.

Chloe squealed with laughter as he dove back onto the mattress, reaching for her, pulling her across the sheets toward him, pinning her hands down on either side of her head as he moved over her, covering her, soft curves against his hard body, skin pressing and sliding deliciously against skin.

“You are so going to pay for that,” he murmured seductively in her ear. Kissing her everywhere until her laughter subsided, turning into soft moans and cries for him.

They showered together afterward to save time.

For six months they had managed to hide their relationship from the rest of the world. It had seemed like a good idea to keep the secret between them at first, but now Oliver wasn’t so certain. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide his feelings for her. It wasn’t something either of them had expected to happen, at least not in the way that it did. If anyone had told him two years ago that he’d become romantically involved with Lois Lane’s cousin, he never would have believed it.

He had loved Lois, but two years ago they had parted ways. It was painful, yet each of them had come to terms with it. It was difficult at first, and eventually they had grown from it, and though they weren’t very close now, they could maintain some semblance of friendship. Oliver knew that she and Clark had been spending a lot of time together since they’d become partners at the Daily Planet. He’d often wondered what they would think of his involvement with Chloe. Lois knew that Chloe worked with him occasionally in some capacity, but of course she didn’t know anything about the League. Some part of him thought that Lois might understand, or at least he’d hoped she would.

Working together, being in constant communication through various means over time meant that he and Chloe grew closer, cultivating a friendship naturally. And then one night six months ago, after an intense mission, it just happened. It was supposed to be an easy night, something he could do alone without the help of the entire team. He’d asked Chloe to assist him, since it was merely a reconnaissance mission, but he’d nearly been killed, getting into several physical altercations and narrowly escaping gunfire on the way, being fired upon as he rode his motorcycle back to the tower. He’d eventually lost his pursuers speeding through several shortcuts and an alternate route home.

Chloe listened to the entire exchange in her earpiece, until she’d lost communication with him somehow, causing her to become increasingly frantic with worry over him. Adrenaline was rioting within them both by the time he’d entered the watchtower. The next thing he knew she was running to him before the elevator doors closed behind him, and he was sweeping her up weightless in his arms. Suddenly without thought, lips and tongues sought out one another’s blindly, meeting in mindless frenzy, and hands were touching, and groping, and clinging to each other, breathing each other’s breath, moans and sighs escaping them both. And they were moving, knocking over a lamp and an end table, tearing at each other’s clothes, gloved urgent hands popping buttons torn from her blouse, small eager hands hastily peeling away green leather, hungrily seeking skin. And then they were on the floor of the penthouse living room, desperate for one another, and he was inside her, and he still wasn’t close enough to her, and it was frantic, and incredible, and hot, and God it was heaven. And she was calling for him, and coming for him, and he lost himself in her utterly and completely.

They would lie to each other afterward, and say that it was just a heat of the moment thing, and that neither of them expected more. They continued to lie to each other for a few more months, until kisses and touches and pleasantly exhausted tangled limbs in bed sheets became ever more frequent. Until neither of them believed their own lies, until neither of them could stand to be without the other. Until now, when Oliver wasn’t so sure that he wanted to hide their relationship anymore, because the truth was that he was in love with her, and probably had loved her before she’d ever thrown her arms around him that first night.

They dressed quickly, and Oliver pressed his lips to her forehead before making his way toward the kitchen to start her favorite brew while she finished getting ready. She claimed to be unable to function properly without her coffee, and he’d always made sure the shelf was stocked with her favorite brand.

Bart was the first to arrive as always. “Wow, Chloelicious isn’t here yet? She’s usually the first one.”

Oliver grinned as he placed the coffee maker lid down, and steaming dark brew began a thin stream into the pot. “She’s here.”

“Cool. What’s our mission about?” Bart asked making his way toward the refrigerator, opening it and sticking his head inside.

“Not sure yet,” Oliver opened the cabinet above him, pulling out mugs and setting them on the counter. “Victor’s found something about possible human experimentation starting up again around Metropolis, but we aren’t sure of much more than that. Thought we’d check into it further. Pass me the cream while you’re in there, Bart.”

Just then, the elevator opened and both Victor and A.C. stepped inside.

“Hey guys,” Chloe beamed up at the group of men as she entered the room, they returned her greeting, their eyes following her as she moved toward Oliver watching as he handed her a filled mug of coffee fixed exactly the way she liked it. “Thanks,” she whispered, smiling up at him, and then taking a sip. It was perfect. She turned her attention to the others. “What have we found so far?”

“New doctor in town,” Victor began. “Name’s Benson. Apparently he’d had his license revoked by the state, and then was mysteriously reinstated a month ago.” Victor handed her the hard copy of the file he’d printed out, and Oliver read over her shoulder.

“Why mysteriously?” Oliver asked.

“Read further. I checked out his bank statements. Look who signs his checks.”

Chloe turned the page, finding the information. “Luthorcorp.” She looked back at Victor.

“He’s been working at the new wing of the Met U Hospital which is a medical research facility. But he’s not on their payroll, he’s being paid directly with Luthorcorp money.”

“And Luthorcorp funded the renovation of that wing,” Chloe added, her expression thoughtful. “What could be going on there that the University wouldn’t know about?”

Victor shrugged, “Money talks. They needed it badly to renovate the wing, and maintain their status as a research facility; maybe someone on the University board is willing to look the other way.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Oliver said.

“That’s not all,” Victor continued. “Several people with meteor abilities have been missing in the last month, since Dr. Benson’s been on the scene. I cross-referenced the names with others on our lists of known infected victims, and sure enough they are on it. Coincidence? Maybe.”

“Lex is collecting the meteor infected again?” Chloe looked up at them, her eyes revealing her fear. Oliver put an arm around her shoulder in a gesture that was both comforting and protective.

“Don’t worry Chloelicious, they won’t get close to you,” Bart encouraged.

“It’s not just me I’m worried about,” she bit her lip, then looked up at Victor. “What about these others?”

Victor shook his head. “No record of them anywhere, not at the Met U wing, not anywhere that I could find. My guess is, there’s another unknown facility somewhere, and the University wing is a front of sorts.”

“We have to find a way in,” she said, her voice urgent.

Oliver turned her to face him, placing both hands on her shoulders, watching her face. He could see her mind working. “No. You’re not going in, Chloe.”

She looked up at him. “But…”

“Let’s wait, we’ll check it out first. Then we’ll decide what to do, okay?”

“Okay.” She looked down at her hands and nodded reluctantly.

Oliver cast a knowing glance at his friends, unspoken communication passing among them. None of the men in the room believed she could keep her promise to wait for long.

**End Chapter 1  
**


	2. 2

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 2**

  
Lex shook the doctor’s hand as he entered the office. “Dr. Benson, have a seat. I’d like to hear about your recent findings. You sounded quite urgent over the phone.”

Dr. Benson pushed up his glasses with a forefinger, then took a seat in front of Lex’s desk. “Yes, Mr. Luthor. Thank you,” he said as he straightened his gray suit jacket, and set his briefcase on his lap. “As you know, I’ve been going over patient files and test data results of some of the meteor infected that you’ve examined over last two years.” Dr. Benson, opened the briefcase, pulling out a file. “I’m quite surprised actually, that your researchers missed a few promising subjects.”

“What do you mean?” Lex sat forward with interest, resting his elbows on his desk.

“Well, for instance, this young lady.” The doctor handed him a file. “In it, your researchers claim no evidence of an ability is evident, yet her data indicates high levels of meteor concentration in her heart, as well other data that suggests an amazing ability.”

Lex opened the file, reading the name contained therein. “Chloe Sullivan?” Now Lex was intrigued. He stood up from his desk rounding it to stand in front of the doctor. “What are you suggesting, doctor? What could her ability possibly be?”

“I believe all the data indicates that Ms. Sullivan there has a healing ability,” he gestured toward the folder Lex held. “How advanced or potent her ability is, remains to be seen, but I’d wager the girl is a healer.”

Lex’s mind worked. “A healer.” He leaned against the desk, lifting his eyes from the folder in his hands, addressing the doctor. “And how would we discover this for certain?”

“Simple. Have her heal someone.”

“And if we turn out to be wrong?”

The doctor shrugged, emitting a short humorless laugh. “Well, then I suppose the injured party will have to heal the old fashioned way. On their own.”

Lex gazed down once more at the name on the folder, a small smile curving his lips. He turned to the doctor once more. “Thank you doctor. May I keep this?” He indicated the file, lifting it slightly.

“Of course, I have my own copy,” the doctor said as he rose from his chair.

Lex extended his arm, shaking the doctor’s hand. “Good. Keep me informed of any others you find.”

“Will do, Mr. Luthor. Let me know if you find Ms. Sullivan, she’d be a fascinating subject.”

Lex smiled mysteriously. “Oh, I’m sure she will be doctor. Very sure indeed.”

* * * * * * *

Chloe pressed her cheek against his chest, feeling safe and loved in the cocoon of his arms. She sighed contentedly, slipping her arm around his middle. They weren’t really watching the movie anyway. Stealing moments together was something she should be used to by now, but any alone time they had was usually spent snuggled up on his couch together like now, or in bed, and those occasions when they could sneak away for dinner, or take walks together trying to avoid the notice of paparazzi. Twice he’d surprised her, whisking her away for weekends in Paris, and Rome on the pretense of work related League business, that turned out to be wonderful and amazing, and everything but work. He’d spoiled her. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable; she was still a Kansas girl after all, but she let him indulge himself a bit.

Chloe couldn’t help but smile. Oliver was usually a fairly stoic man, but underneath the tough, sometimes arrogant, overconfident, cocky façade of green leather, and League leader, and well-educated, shrewd multi-billionaire CEO, deep, deep down he was an incurable romantic at heart. He wasn’t a man who gave his heart away easily, or expressed his emotions often, but when he did, he gave everything, and she was simply happy to be here in his arms, sitting on his couch, not having to worry about anyone catching them together. He was leaving for Star City tomorrow, and she was glad to have this time alone with him.

His voice rumbled softly in his chest against her ear. “Do you really want to risk exposing yourself, and have Lex possibly discover your ability?” Oliver ran his fingers through her hair. It had been a week. Chloe and Victor had done searches and investigations, but no information could be found about the missing infected victims, and within the week’s time, two more meteor-infected on the list had disappeared without a trace. Oliver didn’t like the idea that she wanted to go in on some undercover scheme pretending to see Dr. Benson on the pretense of seeking treatment for her meteor infection.

“No. But what better way to find out what Lex is up to?”

“You know if he finds out, he’ll only use you.”

“Not if he can’t get to me.”

“And you don’t think he won’t try? Come on, Chloe, you know him as well as I do.”

She turned her head, resting her chin on his chest, looking up at him. “He already knows I’m meteor infected. What’s to stop him from gathering me up along with others now?”

Oliver cupped her cheek, his thumb gently stroking beneath her eye. “The difference is, he doesn’t know you have a healing ability. For all he knows, you have no ability at all.”

“True. But his desperation is showing. He’s getting sloppy, and he’s going through that list. Last time I checked, my name was on it.” His chest tightened with worry, and Chloe watched his face as his expression changed. She sat up, placing her hand at his nape, threading her fingers into his hair, touching her forehead against his cheek. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Ollie.”

“Then please wait and let us find more information first, Chloe,” he whispered. “I want to get Lex just as badly as you do, and I’m sometimes the one who reacts without thinking, but this time we can’t simply react. There’s too much at stake if you try to go in there pretending to seek treatment for your meteor infection.”

She kissed his cheek softly. “I just feel as though I need to do something, Ollie.”

“I know you do. So do I. But I can’t risk anything happening to you, Chloe. And knowing he’s after the meteor infected is just not doing anything to ease my concerns for your safety. I don’t want to just go in there without knowing more about what Lex is up to.” He took her face in his hands, his gaze intense, his dark eyes pleading. “Please promise me that you won’t do anything on your own.”

“I promise,” she said. And she meant it.

Oliver stared into her eyes, having learned how to read her emotions. She wasn’t lying to him, he was sure of it. She’d never lied to him before. Satisfied that she wouldn’t go off and do something without his protection, he closed his eyes in relief, and pulled her head down against his chest once more. “Okay.” He breathed deeply, exhaling slowly. “When I come back from Star City, we’ll figure this out, and we’ll do something about it. That’s my promise.”

“It’s a deal.”

They were silent for a while, simply holding each other.

“What’s this movie about anyway?” He asked.

“I have no idea.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” he murmured into her hair. “I can think of a better way to spend the rest of the night,” he intoned suggestively, his hand sliding down over her bottom.

“Oh really? What’s that?”

He took her hand, removing it from his back, sliding it over his hard stomach and guiding it toward the zipper of his blue jeans. He then lifted her chin, his lips seeking hers, pressing soft, slow, persuasive kisses over her mouth as she stroked, rubbing him gently over the denim pants, feeling him grow and harden against her palm, his hips moving upward, pressing himself against her hand. It never failed to amaze her, just how her touch and her nearness could affect him so. She wasn’t certain why it fascinated her, but it did. Maybe because she never in a million years ever expected to be falling in love with Oliver Queen or that he would fall in love with her. But here they were, and now he was picking her up, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack, her butt in the air. And she was laughing and calling him a cave man as he made his way to the bedroom.

“What?” he protested innocently. “Even my cave man wants his woman before he as to leave her.”

She couldn’t stop laughing. “Ollie put me down!” she squealed.

He did. Tossed her onto the bed. And though his cave man made a brief appearance, Oliver made love to her slowly and sweetly, leaving his woman feeling breathless, and loved, and happy.

* * * * * * * *

Chloe entered the ISIS building, turning on lights as she went. She stepped into the office area, removing her jacket hanging it on the coat rack. Setting her purse and her take out coffee cup down on the desk, she booted up the computer systems.

She was using the foundation’s resources to try to glean information about the missing victims. If Lex were looking for something in particular, she’d hoped she could discover some common thread among those missing.

“Excuse me, Miss? I need help, please, can you help me?”

Chloe turned around at the sound of the voice, and entered the main room. “Oh my God, are you all right?”

The dark-haired young man in front of her was bleeding profusely from a wound to his arm, just under the edge of his white t-shirt. One hand covered the injury in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. “I was on my way here, because I’d heard about this place. I was caught in the last meteor shower.” The young man paused, wincing in pain. “Two guys, I dunno where they came from, took my wallet, my cell phone... one of them had a knife.” He gazed at her, pleading. “Can you all a cab for me, so I can get to the hospital, I think it’s deep, cut some tendons I think, please Miss.”

Chloe bit her lip. Her face etched with uncertainty and concern. “Come in here,” she gestured toward the rear section, behind the waiting room. “Have a seat, let me take a look at it.”

The teenager removed his hand, and blood flowed from the long, deep gash in his arm. “If you could just call someone, I’d be grateful.”

The knife had cut through muscle, and Chloe winced at the sight of it. “Listen to me. I can help you, but you must tell no one, understood?”

He gazed up at her wide-eyed, in obvious pain. He nodded. “Anything, Miss.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. Then placed her hands over the wound. Brilliant light emanated from her hands and the young man looked on in wonder. Warm sensations entered him, flooding him, radiating through the injured part of his body where she touched him, and within seconds his pain was gone, but now her face was twisted slightly in pain, and just as soon as it had begun, it was ended.

“Holy shit! That is amazing! Is that what happened to you from the meteors?”

Chloe didn’t answer his question. “Go and wash the blood from your arm, and if you need to call anyone, you can use my phone.” She leaned against the desk for support, slightly weakened as the young man headed for the nearby restroom.

When he’d returned, he was rubbing his arm over the non-existent wound. “Thank you so much, Miss. I-I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough.”

Chloe offered him a small smile. “Please tell no one, and that will be enough.”

“I won’t, I promise,” he smiled back, leaving the ISIS building then, walking to the corner and around to the alley.

He stepped up to a black limousine. The window came down, and he showed the occupant his arm.

“Good work, kid,” Lex said as he handed the young man a wad of bills.

“No problem dude, easiest thousand bucks I’ve ever made.”

Lex smiled indulgently. “Best thousand bucks I’ve ever spent. Remember our deal. You tell anyone you ever saw me and I’ll do more than slash your arm.”

  
**End Chapter 2**


	3. 3

**   
**

**Déjà Vu**

**   


  
Chapter 3

  
**

Chloe hadn’t given much more thought to the young man as she became engrossed in her investigations. After hours of searching and cross-referencing data, she could find no real common thread among the meteor-infected victims that had been missing. Different ages, sexes, races, some had known but unrelated manifested abilities, while others had not. It seemed a dead end.

She spoke to Oliver briefly over the phone earlier, but he’d been called away to meet with an associate, and he’d told her he’d call her later tonight. So with no new leads, Chloe began closing down the ISIS networks, turning off lights, and gathering up her things. Glancing at the clock, she noted the hour, nearing 7 pm. She’d pick up something to eat, head home, maybe have a hot bath, and then bed.

Locking up the ISIS doors, she headed toward her car, digging in her purse, fumbling for keys. Occupied thusly, she’d not seen the dark figure approach stealthily behind her. Suddenly Chloe sensed a presence nearby, but it was too late, a sweet smell invaded her nostrils as a cloth was placed over her face, and hands reached for her as she fell into oblivion.

* * * * * * *

Oliver paced his Star City apartment nervously, cell phone pressed to his ear. “Clark, have you seen or heard from Chloe at all recently?”

“No, in fact Lois is worried, Chloe never came home last night, and we’ve been looking for her, but she wasn’t at ISIS, her car is there, and she’s not answering her cell.”

“Listen, we need to get everyone together, there’ve been some things going on with Luthor, and I need to get everyone up to speed.” Oliver checked his watch. “I can be back in Metropolis in a couple of hours, meet me at the Tower.”

“What’s going on Oliver? Do you know where she is?”

Oliver paused, taking a deep breath and trying to keep the emotion from his voice. “No. I’ve been trying to contact her all night and this morning as well.” He swallowed, not wanting to consider the possibilities. “Clark, we think Lex has been rounding up meteor infected again. Chloe was helping us look into it.”

“Oliver…,” Clark began, his voice hard, as though he were about to go off on a rant about her safety.

“There’s no time for that now, Clark. Just meet me at the penthouse, I’ll tell you more when I get there.” Oliver ended the call abruptly, then dialed another number. “Get a jet ready. I need to leave for Metropolis immediately.”

The two-hour flight lasted too long, and Oliver’s anxiety increased with every passing moment. When he finally reached the penthouse, everyone was there.

“Anything?” he asked, dropping his bag at the door, his expression obviously one of great distress.

“Nothing,” Clark answered.

“We checked ISIS, her last log-in was around 6:45 pm last night,” Victor said. “Her car was still parked near the building, but the ISIS doors were locked, so we think she was possibly abducted while heading toward her car.”

Oliver looked at his watch. “It’s nearing on 24 hours since she’s been gone.” He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his face, pacing around the room. He was tired, frazzled. He looked at each of his teammates, frantic with worry. “We have to get her back, we have to…” his voice rose in panic. He then seemed to remember himself and reined in his near break in composure, dropping into the living room chair, resting his elbows on his knees, lowering his head, and burying his fingers in his hair.

They’d never seen their leader so despondent. He was usually the one to keep his cool in situations like this.

“We all want her back, and we’re going to get her back. What’s going on Ollie?” Bart demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Oliver looked up, eyes flashing anger, ready to pounce on Bart. “What do you mean what’s going on?” He snapped. “Chloe’s missing! That’s what the hell’s going on.”

“He’s not talking about that and you know it.” Victor interjected harshly.

“Why don’t you just tell us, Ollie, it’s not like we haven’t guessed,” A.C. added.

“What are you guys talking about?” This from an utterly confused Clark, who could sense the thick air of tension in the room rising by the second.

Bart had had enough of it, and was at the point where he didn’t care anymore what Oliver might do. Chloe was important to all of them. He approached Oliver’s chair, boldly meeting his eyes. “Man, just tell us, damn it! You didn’t have to hide anything from us in the first place.”

  
"You don't know what you're talking about, Bart!" Oliver ground out, fury nearly choking his words, the tension increasing between them with frightening intensity.

Bart’s voice continued to rise in accusation now, matching Oliver's fury. “Did you think we couldn't tell? You didn’t trust us? So you hid her away, kept her like some dirty secret?

"Stop!" Oliver shouted.

Bart didn't flinch, shouting back. "Are you using her as your personal whore, just like all the other women you’ve fucked?”

Clark couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Oliver using Chloe? Dirty secrets? What the hell was going on?

Oliver’s expression was murderous, and he sprung from his chair with a feral growl, enraged, intent on strangling the younger man. But Bart was faster and Clark was stronger, and he held Oliver back, holding onto upper arms from behind in an iron grip. 

“It’s not like that!” Oliver shouted, struggling futilely within Clark’s grasp. “I love her!” Clark wondered why he seemed to be the only person in the room wearing a shocked expression at this revelation. “Is that what you want to hear?” Oliver finally stopped his struggles, panting, deflated.  His head dropped, lowering in defeat. “I love her,” he whispered.  His breath shuddered.

A deafening silence pervaded the room for long moments. No one moved.

Clark maintained his hold on Oliver as Bart finally approached him. “We knew that you did,” he said, his voice quiet and compassionate. “We all knew. And yeah, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

Oliver lifted his head to gaze at Bart, glistening dark eyes softening upon seeing the younger man’s understanding and concern. “Let’s get her back,” he whispered.

Clark finally released his hold on Oliver, and watched as Bart extended his hand to his boss. “We will, amigo.”

They shook on it, and then clapped each other on the back, and just like that all harsh words were forgotten, and all was well between them, and the serious nature of the business at hand made them teammates once again.

Oliver didn’t want to waste time, but he felt brief explanations were due, especially to the befuddled Clark. He gazed at each of them in turn, not really knowing where to begin. “We’ve been together for six months now. We didn’t tell anyone, not because we didn’t want to, but we just thought it was safer that way. We didn’t expect it to happen, it just… it just did.”

  
* * * * * * *

  
_“Green Arrow to Watchtower, I’m taking evasive action, I’ve been made,” he practically shouted into the comm._

“Copy that Arrow, hurry back.” Chloe could hear the urgency in his voice, and the sounds of gunfire through her earpiece, several shots sounding particularly loud. She jumped in her seat as another shot rang out. Her heart jolted. “Archer? What’s your status?” She waited, but heard nothing but garbled sounds, and then dead silence. She hailed him again. Nothing. Panic began to flood her entire being. This was supposed to be a simple recon mission, not life or death. “Arrow!”

Oliver hadn’t expected this. Chloe had informed him that there were heat signatures in various parts of the warehouse, and she’d guided him through, but this was more than a surprise. He’d simply intended to check out the warehouse, not come in contact with mob style resistance. These guys were armed to the teeth. He’d already been in two fights in less than five minutes, and now was running for his life to get back to his bike. He’d fired off several arrows, and hit two men in pursuit of him, but he wasn’t prepared for this. He finally reached his bike, but several men had entered a vehicle, following him, and were intent on either shooting him right off of his motorcycle, or running him down. Either way, they wanted him dead.

He heard Chloe’s voice over the comm. fearful and panicked. A bullet ricocheted off the rear taillight of the bike shattering it, Oliver swerved, zigging and zagging along the road. He could have sworn a bullet whizzed past his ear. “Jesus!” Oliver sped up, heart beating furiously, adrenaline coursing through his veins, expecting a bullet to hit him at any moment. Chloe called for him, and he answered her, but her response seemed to indicate that she hadn’t heard him, the sheer terror in her voice made his heart wrench. But somehow the thought of her waiting for him at the tower gave him courage and spurned him onward. She was there alone, and the need to get back to her grew stronger with every shot fired.

Chloe tried various channels, and even pulled up satellite feeds of the area trying to locate him. Nothing. “Oh God.” She tried hailing him several times with no results. Pain squeezed her heart as she thought of him. What if he’d been killed? What if they’d caught him? Chloe didn’t know what to do, and thought of leaving the tower to search for him. She tried the comm. again, nearly on the verge of tears “Watchtower to Green Arrow, report immediately!” Again, no response from him, and now her terror was rising, icy fear twisting around her heart. She tried to calm herself, but it was no use, she couldn’t lose him, she just couldn’t. Not now, not ever.

She thought to call the others. Bart could be here in seconds, but she wasn’t certain of the whereabouts of the other team members, other than Clark.

The sound of the elevator caused her pulse to quicken and her stomach to flutter in anxiety. The door opened, he was there, hood down, dark glasses removed, and then she was running to him. “Oliver!” she cried, throwing trembling arms around him, tears of relief blinding her eyes, and choking her voice. “Oliver.”

Oliver caught her up in his arms, holding her close, holding onto her, a lifeline. Clinging to her because feeling her body against his own, grounded him, brought him back to reality. She was crying for him. “I’m here, Chloe. I’m here,” he soothed, saying the words of assurance for her as much as for himself, unable to let her go or set her on her feet.

Neither one of them knew who initiated their first kiss, but it didn’t matter. Maybe they both did. The moment she lifted her tear streaked face from his shoulder, their lips found one another’s and he kissed her hard and frantic because he had to, he needed to, because if he didn’t he thought he’d never feel sane again. And he needed to feel alive and well, and home and safe, and at this moment she was all of those things. He tasted her tears and drew strength from them, knowing that they were shed for him. His gloved hands roved over her clothing, touching her in places and in ways he’d never touched her before; the slenderness of her waist, the fullness of her hip, the small of her back, the roundness of her bottom, the curve of her breast. She was real, and she was here, and that was all he wanted.

They clung to one another, even as he set her down, her feet touching the floor, his lips following hers. Chloe returned his kisses, equally frantic and fevered, needing to feel him, and know that he was really there with her. The minutes she thought she might have lost him seemed an eternity, and she wasn’t going to let this moment pass without letting him know how much she wanted him, needed him right now, as much as she needed the air to breathe.

They staggered blindly, knocking into things, something crashed to the floor, Chloe didn’t know what, did care as long as she could keep kissing him, and breathing his breath. And then, frenzied lips and tongues and teeth were not enough, his gloved hands roaming her body was not enough. Clothes were too restrictive. She needed more.

Oliver felt her small hands pulling on the zipper of his vest, opening it, her hands warm and trembling, and eager over his skin and he knew she needed him as desperately as he needed her. She tugged at the leather, pushing it over his shoulders with a whimper of impatience. Oliver fell to his knees, taking her down with him, shrugging out of his vest quickly and tossing it somewhere, his mouth never leaving hers. Gloved hands grasped the neckline of her blouse, pulling it open, not bothering with the buttons, letting them fly, he lowered his head, burying his face between her breasts, strong arms around her back, hands pulling her closer, because she was not close enough, never close enough. Her fingers threaded his hair, her head thrown back, sensations of his mouth over her skin causing her to gasp and moan. He traced a path of fevered kisses back up to her throat, his breath hot against her, and found her mouth once again, devouring her lips with his.

Chloe reached and groped for him, touching him everywhere, exploring hard, lean muscle, as he tore his gloves from his hands, and his fingers curled around bra straps, pulling them down. She slid her fingers inside, just over the edge of the waistband of his leather pants, tugging on them, wanting them off, pulling him closer, because he was not close enough, never close enough.

They stopped kissing long enough to remove their pants, hastily discarding useless coverings, and once completely naked, Chloe’s mouth found his again, and pulled him down on top of her as she lay back upon the living room floor, wrapping her thighs around him. The sensuous brush of bodies, and the sleek caress of skin against skin overwhelmingly intoxicating them both. Neither one of them thought to ask or question what they were about to do. Neither one of them wanted to think at all. They needed to feel. Feel something other than fear and the hatred of others, and death, and the insanity of the world they lived in. In this moment there were no narrow escapes from death, no 33.1 facilities, no Lex Luthors, no evil doctors, no dangerous missions, no secrets and dual identities. There was only Chloe and Oliver giving themselves to each other. Simply, wholly and completely.

“I need you, Ollie,” she panted between heated kisses, guiding him, urging him inside, urging him to fill her with some glimpse of heaven in the midst of the hell they’d just been through. “I need you.” And when he sunk himself into her silken warmth for the first time, stretching and filling her, the cry of ecstasy at his invasion of her body, and his deep, answering groan as she surrounded and engulfed him tightly, reverberated through them, and shook each of them to the core, unadulterated passion burning in them both.

He needed her too. Couldn’t get enough. No matter how hard he drove into her, or how deeply he plunged, he needed more of her, needed to be closer to her. Meeting her, chasing her in a frantic effort to be one with her, to be part of her. She gripped him, her fingers digging into his flesh, pulling him closer, wanting more of him too. Each of them finding comfort and respite, and escape, and mind numbing pleasure in each other’s bodies. “God, Chloe,” he breathed in wonder. “You feel so good,” he crooned deeply, “So good.” Good was an understatement. It was fucking incredible.

Chloe rose to meet him in uncontrolled passion. She called for him, his name released on moaning breaths as she reached her own incredible heights, her body jolting in small involuntary spasms that spiraled through her as she shuddered beneath him. She gasped in sweet agony. “Oliver…”

She came for him, and he watched her face, so beautiful in the height of ecstasy, as he moved within her, filling her deeply, all the way, over and over again. Taking her with urgency, until his eyelids closed and his own climax surged within him, rushing, flowing, overwhelming him with its intensity, moaning a long guttural sound of pleasure as he emptied himself pulsing inside her heat.

He felt almost drunk in his languidness, collapsing on top of her for a time, then reluctantly slipping out of her warmth, and rolling to his back, panting. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms, uncertain of what he should say. Unable to speak.

They were silent for long moments until they were almost able to breathe normally once again.

He struggled for something, anything to say. “Chloe… I…”

“It’s okay, you know? It doesn’t have to be anything more than this,” she whispered, stroking his chest lightly.

“I don’t… know what happened. I know what happened, I just…”

She rose up on her elbow, gazing down at him, green eyes compassionate and understanding. “Heat of the moment. We needed each other, Ollie. That’s all. And that’s okay.”

He nodded lightly in agreement, grateful for her understanding. Oliver reached up to caress her cheek, his eyes drifting over her face. He moved his hand gently, threading his fingers into her hair. She was his friend, he didn’t want to hurt her, or cause this to complicate their friendship or their working relationship. And then without warning, more thoughts invaded his mind. What if he needed her more than he was willing to admit? What if he needed her again and again? What if what had just happened was the culmination of something that had been brewing between them for a while? Obviously they had both wanted this to happen. What if one of them wanted more? What if he wanted more?

“Don’t worry about it,” she whispered, offering him a small, reassuring smile. Stroking his brow with soothing fingertips, as though trying to ease the thoughts from his mind.

Fingers entwined in her hair, he cupped the back of her head, and pulled her down toward him, his parted lips meeting hers. He wouldn’t worry.

He took her back to his bed, and kept her with him the entire night. They slept in each other’s arms; then waking during the night in darkness, desires rising to seek and find comfort and intense pleasure once again in each other’s bodies, and then utterly exhausted, they slept again peacefully. The first time he could excuse away as the heat of the moment, the second time, there was no such excuse, and then reaching for her, needing her once more in the morning before she left, he’d given up on excuses. He wouldn’t worry, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough.

* * * * * * **

Chloe awoke to find herself wearing a hospital gown, strapped to the bed in a white clinical room with medical equipment nearby. She struggled against the bonds to no avail.

The door opened, revealing an older man, in a lab coat with salt and peppered hair. He pushed his glasses up with a forefinger. “You’re awake. Good.”

“Who are you? Why am I here?” She struggled against the bonds once more. “Let me go,” she demanded.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Ms. Sullivan,” he said as he strode toward her, a syringe in his hand. “You are a very remarkable young woman, with an amazing gift, and I plan on using whatever means necessary to tap into your ability. Now, I’d like to get started as soon as possible with the testing procedures.”

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked, her panic rising, her green eyes wide. “I don’t have an ability.”

The doctor ignored her, gesturing for two orderlies to enter the room. “I assure you this will be painless.” He smiled then. “For the most part.” He swabbed her arm with alcohol and injected her.

Her worst fears were coming to fruition; she was to be used as some kind of lab rat, dissected and prodded. “No! Please, don’t do this!” she cried in terror, and then was silent.

**End Chapter 3**   



	4. 4

 

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 4**

Lightening flashed in Chloe’s brain, images appearing and disappearing at random. She thought she heard voices from far away, echoing in her mind.

_“Raise the amplitude, I’m not getting an accurate reading.”_

She cried out in pain, whether aloud or in her mind, she couldn’t tell. It was all some horrible nightmare. More images fast-forwarding through her brain, faces, events, places. Oliver, Clark, Lois, Lana, but their faces were distorted grotesquely, and their hands reached for her menacingly. She was prom queen, graduation, the second meteor shower, the Daily Planet, Queen Tower, the Kent farm, the Talon, but they were all twisted, and shrouded in eerie darkness.

_“Raise it higher!”_

“But doctor…”

“Do it!”

Chloe screamed in terror. Excruciating pain unlike anything she’d ever felt before coursed through her entire being, emotional, mental, physical all surging through her at once, horrendous pain and incredible fright, and grief so deep it seemed to reach into her soul, and tear her apart.

_“Something’s happening doctor!”_

“Oh my God!

“It’s radiating from her entire body!”

“Shield your eyes from the light!”

“What the hell is happening!?”

“Shut it down, shut it down!”

Sparks popped and flew from expensive equipment, then bursting and erupting into flames. And then it ended abruptly. She felt nothing, and she was weightless, floating, suspended, lost.

When Chloe awoke, she was dizzy and nauseous. Wires were attached to her everywhere, she was hooked up to several monitors; it felt as though a freight train had been driven through her skull, and she found herself strapped to the bed. She felt drained, hollow, lifeless.

Dr. Benson entered the room. “I think that went well, don’t you?” he smirked.

“Who are you?” she demanded weakly, barely able to lift her head. “Why am I in a hospital?”

“My name is Dr. Benson. I specialize in the treatment of meteor-infected victims.”

“I’m not meteor-infected.” Chloe said faintly.

“Oh come now, Ms. Sullivan, please. We both know that you are, and that you possess a unique healing ability.”

Chloe looked up at him in disbelief, fighting through the cobwebs in her brain. “No. You’re wrong, I’m not. It’s not… possible.”

The doctor took a moment to scrutinize her, wondering. “Tell me Ms. Sullivan, what did you do yesterday?”

Her brows furrowed in concentration. “Yesterday?” Chloe shifted tiredly against the pillow, agonizing over the question for long moments. “I-I don’t remember.” She shook her head as though trying to clear it, she blinked several times in rapid succession. “What day is today?”

“It’s Tuesday.”

“I don’t know, went to work I guess.”

“At the ISIS Foundation.” The doctor took note of her listlessness and apparent confusion.

“The ISIS Foundation? I’ve never heard of it. At the Daily Planet. I’m an intern there.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Sullivan. I’ll be back in a moment.”

“No! I have to get out of here. I want to go home. There’s been some mistake, I shouldn’t be here. Where’s Lois, and… and Clark? Are they here?”

He patted her hand, smiling indulgently. “All of your questions will be answered soon, dear. Very soon.” Dr. Benson then left the room.

Chloe didn’t have the strength to struggle against the bonds. Her head pounded, her brain foggy. She couldn’t remember how she’d ended up in a hospital, and fought to grasp for any memory, but she couldn’t remember what she’d done recently or where she’d been. She suddenly felt more drained and exhausted than before, and her eyelids drooped.

* * * * * *

Lex stood anxiously out in the hallway, his anger rising as he waited for the doctor to exit Chloe’s room. Something went horribly wrong during the experiment, and he wanted answers. As soon as the door closed, Lex strode toward him. “I want to know exactly what happened during the procedure, doctor.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Luthor,” Dr. Benson said, pushing his glasses up with a forefinger. “But, I have a theory, and I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.”

“Try me.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “First of all, our equipment has been damaged beyond repair. It may take weeks to get everything in working order once again. Secondly, it is my belief, that when we tried to increase our efforts to access brain functioning, and possibly her ability, her body went into overdrive so to speak, in order to protect her from any outside invasion.”

“And? What does that mean?”

“It appears that her body will fight off any attempt we make, not just physically but mentally as well. Ms. Sullivan seems to have lost portions of her memory, possibly a defense mechanism brought on by our experiment, her ability’s way of protecting her.”

“She’s fooling you doctor, I know Chloe. And even if she’s lost her memory, she still possesses a very valuable ability.”

“True, but what if she doesn’t remember how to utilize her power? If she’s unaware that she has it, and doesn’t recall how to use it, she’s not as valuable, now is she?”

Lex strode purposefully toward the room where Chloe was kept. “Well there’s one way to find out, now isn’t there?”

“Mr. Luthor.” Lex paused, his hand on the doorknob, waiting for the doctor to continue. “Allow me to perform more tests of her ability and her memory. She’s not quite coherent. Let’s give it a day or so and see if she remembers anything, or can call upon her ability.”

Lex hesitated.

“Believe me, Mr. Luthor. I want to harness her powers just as much as you do, and I’m not afraid to do so by any means necessary, but she’s not of much use to us at the moment.”

“Two days. That’s all you have,” Lex warned and then turned away.

  
* * * * * **

“Dude, you need to shave. The whole beard and moustache thing is just not you. I dunno, something about it just doesn’t scream billionaire crime fighter to me. Next thing you know, you’ll be smoking a pipe, wearing turtleneck sweaters and spouting off about the role of anthropomorphic gods in Homer’s **_Iliad_**.”

He looked up from his computer as Bart entered the penthouse. Oliver had been engrossed in searching for what they believed to be another facility owned by Luthorcorp. They’d speculated that perhaps it was where Chloe was being kept, but they could find no information about its location. He ran a hand over his face, fingers absently stroking the short facial hair growth, staring out through the large windows of the penthouse that overlooked Metropolis. He couldn’t help but wonder what Chloe would think of his newly forming beard. She’d always said his scruffy stubble was sexy, but he hadn’t thought to shave at all since her disappearance over a week ago and now it was a bit beyond scruff. She probably wouldn’t like it, since it would hide the dimple in his chin that she seemed to love so much, and took the occasional stealthy opportunity to lick or kiss when he wasn’t paying attention. He pretended that it annoyed him to no end, but in truth he didn’t mind when she did it, and he’d give anything right now to have her here, and let her lick and nibble and kiss his dimple to her heart’s content.

A heaviness centered in his chest as his thoughts wandered. He’d been doing that a lot. Wondering what she’d do, or think, or say at any given moment. Wishing he could tell her something, wanting to call her, ask her about something. God he missed her so much, and every day that passed was another day further from her, another day without her. He must have relived the last moments he was with her over and over in his mind a thousand times. The movie they never watched, her laughter as he carried her to his room over his shoulder, her whispered words as he made love to her. She was somewhere, waiting for him, and they’d found nothing. She’d disappeared without a trace, and every day that he didn’t find her, he was letting her down…

“Ollie.” Bart noted the pained faraway expression on his boss’s face. In truth he was worried. Oliver looked haggard and worn. He wasn’t sleeping or eating much, spending most of his time on patrols looking for any clue as to Chloe’s whereabouts, or having Victor decode encrypted information, and then spending hours poring through it searching for any hint of where she may have been taken. But now he might have a lead, something to give his boss hope. “Ollie.”

“Uh… Yeah, I’ll shave later,” he shrugged, as he came back from wherever he was. “You’ve read Homer?”

Bart waved it off, “Long time ago, in like two minutes, but no. Listen. I said I heard something today. Might be a lead.” Bart sat down, a glass of orange juice in his hand.

Oliver hadn’t even noticed he’d gone into the kitchen, but now Bart had his undivided attention. “What did you hear?”

“I was just hanging out, you know like I do sometimes. Some dudes, about my age, talking. One guy saying some friend of a friend of his made a thousand bucks, letting someone slash his arm, and then going to see a lady that healed him instantly.”

Oliver rose from his seat. “When did you hear this?”

“Just now. I came here right afterward.”

“You think you can find this guy?”

“I’m already on it. Got my feelers out there.”

“Good work, Bart. Sure you can trust these guys?”

A sly grin appeared on Bart’s face, as he set down his juice. “If they want these back, they’ll come through.” He pulled out several wallets, some of them stuffed with cash.

Oliver gave him a look of admonishment, yet couldn’t help but grin.

“I still got the touch,” Bart sang, proud of his talents, as he gazed admiringly at his recent acquisitions.

“Just don’t get your ass kicked.”

“No worries boss. They’ll find this guy for us, just wait.”

Sure enough, Bart’s friends came through. And later that night Impulse and the Green Arrow paid the unsuspecting Kyle a visit. They’d dragged him into a secluded alley, and they’d gotten him to confess, with a little encouragement of course, that he’d been approached by a rich bald guy. Heck, he needed the money for his band since the equipment they were using was old. The rich dude only wanted him to go into ISIS and talk to the woman there who ran the place. She was a hot little blonde, nice curvy body with a great ass that he wouldn’t mind tapping, okay the big guy in green didn’t seem to like that comment and tightened his grip on Kyle’s throat till he choked for breath, lifting him right off his feet, and flattening him against the brick wall.

The bald guy said he’d cut him, but that the woman would heal him, and if she couldn’t, he’d double the money and pay for stitches. Sure enough though, she touched his arm, and it was the most incredible thing he’d ever seen. His wound was gone completely like it was never there. He left and showed his arm to the dude in the limo and that was it. Kyle begged for the large green dude to let him go, and only after the smaller guy in red convinced him, he loosened his grip. He thought green leather guy would kill him, and Kyle was relieved when he finally released him.

“Let me have this one, boss,” the guy in red said. And then Kyle was spun around until he couldn’t see straight or even stand upright, and then the red dude’s fist connected with his face, and Kyle was left in the alley in a heap along with the rest of the garbage.

* * * * * *

Lex would come to visit her every day. He’d bring flowers or books, or coffee for her. She didn’t trust him completely, but as of right now, it appeared he was her only friend. Who’d have thought that would ever happen? It hurt deeply that neither Clark nor Lois had come to see her. Chloe was depressed and antsy, needing to get out of this place. She was tired of the tests, and things they’d ask her to do or to remember. She wanted to go home, but she wasn’t certain now where home was.

She’d been in an accident, Lex had told her, and she’d been unconscious for a long time. When she awoke physical wounds had healed, but she’d lost portions of her memory, and Lex had been filling her in, answering every question she fired at him patiently, trying to help her regain what she’d lost. Some things were difficult to accept, and she wasn’t certain she believed everything he told her, but the absence of people she thought were her loved ones cut her to the core. She didn’t think Lex was being entirely truthful, but since she couldn’t trust her own mind to recall much, Chloe spent most of her days floundering in confusion, not knowing what to think or believe, or who to trust. If there was one person in the world she could trust it was Clark, but apparently now even he’d abandoned her.

She’d gotten fired from the Daily Planet over a year ago, and how she’d not remember something like that she couldn’t fathom. She couldn’t think of one possible thing she’d have done to lose her job, and Lex simply told her that there was new management, and they’d made lots of personnel changes. Then he told her that Clark had taken on a job there and now was working alongside Lois, showing her a recent edition of the paper containing a small article on page eighty-four with Clark’s byline as proof. Clark hadn’t even finished college, yet somehow he was at the Planet, probably at her desk right now. It boggled the mind further. She spent her nights crying in frustration over the loss of memories, and the concept of time, the loss of friends, the loss of her old life, and she sank further into despair with every passing day.

“Hey.”

Lex’s soft voice roused her from her reverie, as he entered the room, bearing a large Styrofoam cup of coffee for her. Chloe set down the book she wasn’t reading anyway. “Hey.”

She wasn’t looking well. Dark circles under her eyes, her skin pale and thin, stretched over the bones of her face. Lex had finally come to believe that she indeed had amnesia, and had been spending time with her daily. Her ability had not reappeared however, and this concerned him. But all was not lost, and another idea grew from the unfortunate side effects of the original experiments. Chloe was an intelligent woman, she’d always been a worthy adversary, one to be admired, albeit begrudgingly. It occurred to him that she’d make a worthy ally as well, and so he’d set about manipulating her surroundings, visiting her every day to gain her trust, convincing her that he was probably just about the only friend she had left. He didn’t think she trusted him fully, but it was time to take the next step.

“I’ve got some good news,” he said, handing her the cup.

“What’s that?”

“Doc says you get out today.”

She brightened considerably at this. “Really?” She smiled. “I need to find Clark.”

“Chloe,” Lex began gently. “That’s probably not a good idea.”

“Why not, I’m going to ream him a new one for not even coming to visit me.”

“Remember when I told you that things were different between the two of you?”

“Yes, but Clark’s my friend, he always will be.”

“Things have changed Chloe.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“He never forgave you for working against him with my father, or working with me, helping me get my father imprisoned.”

Chloe’s face changed, turning into a mask of confusion. “But…but he did. I know he did. He forgave me.”

“No Chloe. He didn’t, and now he and Lois are spending a lot of time together, they’ve forgotten about you, you’ve been gone a long time. We’ve gone over this before, and I know you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “No! I don’t believe that. They love me, they wouldn’t just abandon me!”

“Look.” Lex handed her some photographs, digital date stamped on them from two days ago.

Tears clouded her vision, and she wiped at her eyes hastily, viewing the images. It was Lois and Clark and they were in front of the Daily Planet building, laughing and joking and wearing flirtatious expressions. One photograph had Clark’s arm placed casually around Lois’s shoulder. It could have been a friendly gesture and nothing more, but Chloe imagined something else was happening there.

“I know this is hard for you Chloe, and I know you don’t trust me. I’m not going to ask for your trust, but I’m offering you my friendship, and I want to help you get back on your feet again, help you get your life back. You did help me once after all.”

Chloe sniffled, brushing the tears away from her eyes. She didn’t speak.

Lex continued, his tone calm, his voice smooth. “You are welcome to stay at the mansion, continue treatments until you regain your memory, then you are free to go and do whatever you please.”

“What’s the catch?” she sniffed, her breath stuttering as her tears subsided.

Lex smiled indulgently. “No catch. Maybe just help me out with some Luthorcorp business, put your research skills to work. It’ll help you get back into the swing of things, and give you something to do while we work on getting your memories back.”

Chloe didn’t know what to do. Confusion seemed to be her normal state of mind. But the prospect of getting out of the hospital, and doing some real work was tempting, and she was out of options now apparently. Maybe she’d try to contact Clark at some point, find out what happened, but all the evidence pointed to the fact that she’d lost touch with him. Some part of her didn’t believe it, but what else was there to think?

She lifted tear-glazed eyes to Lex who waited expectantly for her answer. “Okay,” she whispered.

**End Chapter 4**


	5. 5

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 5**

Lex had given her a new laptop, cell phone, new clothes and her own room, a workspace and desk. He’d also returned her tazer gun to her. Of course, the first thing she did with her laptop was attempt to find information about herself. Unfortunately, there was nothing much there. No news reports of her accident, nothing that would help her really, which she found odd.

He didn’t think it was wise just yet for her to leave the mansion by herself, so he’d hired two bodyguards to escort her when she went for treatments every week at the Met U research wing, meeting with Dr. Benson. He’d prescribed some medication for her, and there had been therapy sessions, but thus far, there’d been no improvement to her memory. It was frustrating, and she still cried at night sometimes, wishing for her life back, wishing for her memories, wondering if they’d ever return.

She was dying to call Clark or just see him even if only to prove to herself that they’d been out of touch, and no longer shared the deep friendship they’d once had. She’d actually dialed the number to the Kent farm, but the number had been disconnected. The same thing happened when she tried to call Lois. Lex kept her busy researching possible company acquisitions and various investors, and she actually enjoyed finding information for him, it gave her something to do and kept her mind working, occupied with other things.

She’d been helping him for two weeks when he came to her with something a bit different.

He entered her office area and leaned casually on her side of the desk. “I have to say, you’re looking much better. I hope you’re comfortable here.”

“I am. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Chloe, I need you to check into something for me.” He had a manila folder in his hands. “Luthorcorp has been having trouble with some terrorist activities, you may have heard of him.” He handed her the folder.

Chloe opened it, and found a police sketch of a hooded man wearing dark glasses. Under the police sketch were several newspaper clippings. “Green Arrow Bandit?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Lois wrote this one?” she asked, sliding out the clipping of the _**Inquisitor**_, noting the date of the article. “Wow, this was awhile ago.”

“Well, he’s back at it.” Lex folded his arms across his chest. “Destroyed one of our research and development branches.” He grinned down at her. “I was hoping you could do some sleuthing and see what you could find.”

“Green Arrow Bandit, huh? I’d lose the ‘Bandit’. Green Arrow sounds better.” She flipped through the papers, pulling out the police sketch once more, studying it. Her head tipped thoughtfully to the side, for a few seconds, her eyes had a faraway look in them.

_“Green Arrow to Watchtower, I’m in position.”_

“Okay, there should be a security access panel near the east door. According to this schematic, you need to very carefully rewire the system…”

* * *

_“Green Arrow to Watchtower, I’m taking evasive action, I’ve been made.”_

“Copy that Arrow, hurry back… Watchtower to Green Arrow, what’s your status? Archer! Report immediately!”

Chloe blinked, her brows knit, and then it was forgotten.

“Are you okay?”

She rubbed her forehead. “Yeah, my head hurts a little, but I’m okay.” She slid the police sketch and newspaper clippings back into the folder, then placed it on her desk. “I’ll get on this right away, see what I can find for you.”

“Thanks, you’ve been very helpful to me Chloe, I appreciate it.”

She offered him a small smile, and shrugged. “It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me, Lex.”

A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “It’s nothing,” he said, and left the room. Lex didn’t trust her completely. He knew she’d attempt to find information about herself, he knew she’d try to call Clark or Lois, so he’d had particular search capabilities blocked, and her cell phone set up so that whenever she dialed anyone she knew, the calls would be forwarded, and she’d receive a message indicating that the line had been disconnected. He was gaining her trust with each passing day, and the treatments from Dr. Benson kept her from regaining her memory. His only concern was the possibility of friends searching for her, and discovering that she was at the mansion, or seeing them and having her memories return.

Chloe reached for the folder again, flipping through the contents, always drawn back toward the sketch. Something was familiar about it, and yet something was wrong about it too. Something was missing. There was something lifeless and cold about it that didn’t seem to feel right. The face in the sketch could be almost any man, yet she knew this wasn’t just any man. There was so much more to him than this two-dimensional drawing could ever show her. She stared at it for long moments, finally setting it down in front of her, so that her eyes would drift to it every so often. “Let’s see what you’re about, Mr. Arrow,” she murmured to herself as she began to type away at the keyboard.

* * * * * * *

Lois wiped at her eyes with a tissue Clark had just given her. “It’s been a month since she’s been gone, Clark. What else am I supposed to think?”

“You can’t give up, Lois.” She and Clark were in the Talon apartment on a lazy Sunday afternoon, sitting on the futon. Every now and then since Chloe’s disappearance, Lois would simply break down. She’d launched her own search, but she too came up empty-handed at every turn, and now she was nearing the point of losing all hope.

“The police haven’t found a trace of her, and none of us have been able to come up with anything.”

“We’re still looking for her. Oliver is not going to give up that easily.”

“I hope we find her, so that I can give her hell for keeping her relationship with Ollie a secret, and then I’ll hug the stuffing out of her,” Lois sniffled.

“I think you gave Oliver enough hell, don’t you?”

“He deserved it.” She blew her nose into the tissue.

“They had their reasons for hiding it.”

“I can’t believe you’re defending him.”

“You don’t still care about him, do you?”

“No. I care about him, just not in that way anymore. I think I’m angrier that Chloe didn’t share it with me, but not angry that she’s with Ollie, he’s a good guy and as long as he knows I’ll cut his nuts off if he hurts her, we’re good.” A short laugh escaped her. “I would like to see them together though, I’m betting they make a cute couple.” Her smile faded, as another tear slipped down her cheek and she turned to Clark. “But I can’t do that, unless she comes back,” she whispered, and then lay her head on Clark’s shoulder.

Clark stayed with her for another hour, offering what comfort he could until she felt better, and then headed downstairs. As he neared the exit, he could have sworn he saw a familiar figure leaving the Talon, escorted by two men in suits.

“Chloe!” He jogged up toward her before she could enter the black sedan. “Chloe!”

She turned around, eyeing him speculatively. “Hello Clark.” She said cautiously.

Clark threw his arms around her. “Chloe! Where have you been? Everyone’s been searching for you, we’ve all been worried sick about you for a month now.”

Clark felt her stiffen in his arms and leaned back to look down at her.

She wore a pasted on smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked uncomfortable. “I’m fine Clark. I hear you’re doing well too. Working at the Daily Planet with Lois. That’s great. I’m glad.”

His brows furrowed, she already knew that, he’d been working there for almost a year now. Something was not right at all here. “Chloe where have you been?”

“What do you mean? I’ve been here the whole time, Clark. I never left Smallville. I mean, I know we were friends once, but I haven’t heard from you or my cousin Lois in a long time.”

“What are you talking about? Chloe, what’s happened to you?”

One of the suits interjected. “Excuse me, Ms. Sullivan? We have to go now.”

“No!” Clark reached for her as she stepped toward the car. “Chloe wait.”

“I’m sorry Clark, it was nice seeing you again, as much as I’d love to stand here and reminisce about the good old days, I really do have to go. Say hello to Lois for me, will you? That’s if you think she’ll care at all.”

What did she mean by that? “Wait! Where are you going?” Clark watched her enter the car, and stared after it as they drove away, dumbfounded by the entire exchange. What had they done to her? That wasn’t his Chloe at all. Clark debated on whether or not to follow them, but the way she’d reacted coldly to him, and acted as though she hadn’t seen him for far longer than a month, as though she barely knew him, he thought it best to head for Queen Tower first, and in a flash, he was gone.

Chloe sat in the backseat of the sedan, staring out at the landscape passing by. A single tear hung from her lashes, and then slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily. They’d been looking for her? When? Who were ‘they’? They must not have looked too hard when she’d been here the entire time. No matter. It was in the past and she’d already mourned the loss of both Clark and Lois many times over. No sense in shedding more tears over them.

When she arrived back at the mansion, she told Lex about meeting Clark. She was visibly upset, and he offered her comforting words, slipped her medication in a glass of juice, and then called Dr. Benson. She’d need another session of treatment and so he sent her to the Met U wing for the night, making certain to tell his men to guard her more closely, and that under no circumstances was she allowed to speak at length with anyone.

Chloe had been making some progress in her research on the Green Arrow, and he felt that soon, they’d catch him, and possibly discover his identity. He wanted nothing to get in the way of her efforts. And though her healing ability had yet to reappear, he’d been right, she’d turned out to be a valuable ally, indeed.

* * * * * * * * *

  
Clark had told him that he’d seen her at the Talon, and that she’d acted as though she hadn’t seen him in a long time, and spouted off something about being former friends. They’d done something to her memory, that much was evident, and so Bart nagged him to shave, saying he looked unrecognizable even to those who knew him. He had to agree, and he needed Chloe to remember him the way she’d seen him last.

He’d been parked across the street from the Talon nearly all day, and Oliver had finally gotten lucky; this seemed to be a new daily afternoon stop for her. He watched her enter, his heartbeat pounding erratically at finally seeing her again. He entered the café, and there she was, ordering a latte. Nearby were two dark-suited men waiting for her. He was nervous, but Oliver had to time this right without looking suspicious. And as cliché as it was, the only thing he could think to do was bump into her, literally. As she was accepting her change from the barista, he approached her from behind casually, and when she turned around he was suddenly there, getting a bit of her hot coffee spilled on his leather jacket.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry!” she blurted, without really looking up at him, but rather where she’d spilled her coffee on a patch of brown leather. “Did I burn you?” she asked barely glancing up at him long enough to register anything.

“Not at all. It’s quite all right,” he answered as she turned away from him, reaching for some napkins on the counter.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again, attempting to wipe away the spilled coffee from him. Finally her gaze rose up to meet his fully, and Oliver looked down at her expectantly, waiting for some sign of recognition from her. There was, but it wasn’t what he’d expected.

As their eyes met, Chloe felt a shock course through her. Her lips parted in surprise, her eyes widened, and her cheeks became instantly flushed. “Oh… Mr. Queen? I-I recognize you from the paper.” She was still wiping at his jacket absently, staring completely dumbfounded by the man in front of her.

Oliver’s heart sank, she didn’t remember him, and it took everything he had not to sweep her into his arms, or say her name. “Don’t apologize,” he answered thickly, trying not to show his disappointment at her lack of recognition. He flashed his most charming Oliver Queen smile. “It was entirely my fault, Miss…”

Chloe merely stared, tongue-tied. She breathed one word. “Wow.” It was all she could utter like a star struck schoolgirl. He was so much more devastatingly handsome in person; newspaper photographs did not do the man justice. “Uh…” Suddenly she seemed to remember herself, and cast a nervous glance at one of the men behind Oliver who waited for her. He had taken a menacing step forward. She looked up at Oliver again, his dark eyes drawing her in as he studied her. Her brows furrowed momentarily as confusion and some other unknown emotion crossed her features, her green eyes clouding over ever so briefly.

  
_“We can’t be out of coffee, I just bought your favorite kind.” He said, lifting his head from the newspaper, tipping his head back in her direction._

_“You did? You’re so sweet, Ollie,” she beamed, stepping up behind his chair, bending over him and wrapping her arms round his neck, her hands roaming down over his chest. She pressed her cheek to his._

_“Am not. I just don’t want to hear you whine about it.”_

_“Come on, admit it. You are sweet,” she nipped his earlobe gently._

_The smile he’d been trying to hide appeared. He turned his head, and pressed his lips to her cheek. “Only for you, Sidekick, but that’s our secret,” he whispered. “I do have reputation to uphold, after all.”_

_“You’re right. Sweet Arrow doesn’t have a superhero ring to it. You’re secret is safe with me._”

  
She blinked, it was there and then it was gone in a matter of seconds, and there was no way of getting it back. “I-I’m sorry, I have to go. I hope you’ll forgive me about the coffee, Mr. Queen. I can have the jacket cleaned for you,” she added hastily.

Oliver watched her face, intently. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it, really.” He reached out to stay her before she could step away, hopeful that there was perhaps some subconscious recognition on her part. “Wait. What’s your name?”

“The young lady has somewhere she has to be sir,” the suited man approached, grasping Chloe’s elbow before she could answer. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but simply shrugged helplessly as the man insinuated himself between them. Oliver’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching imperceptibly. He had the urge to knock out both of the men with her, and steal her from them, but starting a fight in the Talon over her was probably not a good idea. “If you’ll excuse us,” the man said coolly and led her away, followed by the other hired suit.

They escorted her out, but not before Chloe turned back for one last glimpse of him, offering him a sweet, shy smile that made him fall in love with her all over again, and caused his heart ache grievously all in the same moment. He’d finally seen her. And he had to get her back.

Oliver reached into his pocket for his cell phone as he stepped toward the exit of the Talon. “Clark, I saw her. No, she didn’t recognize me... well, she did but only from what she’s seen in the newspapers. She doesn’t know me. We need to get her back, you were right, she’s under watch like some prisoner,” his voice was low, tinged with anger. “I’m going to tail them,” he paused listening. “I’m at the Talon.”

Oliver looked up as Clark entered the café. “I’m going with you.”

Together they followed the black sedan.

“We could stop them and take her now,” Oliver said, his fingers gripping the steering wheel, wanting to get closer but trying to maintain some distance.

“We don’t know what their orders are. What if they hurt her? Or she gets hurt in the process? Not only that, but she doesn’t  know you, Oliver, and hates me for some reason.”

“We seem to be headed toward the mansion, Lex wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep her there would he? I mean why not keep her in some facility?”

“What better way to keep an eye on her, brainwash her, tell her whatever he wants her to believe, turn her against me and her other friends?” Clark answered. “He’s keeping her close.”

“Then we have to get in there. Get her out.”

“She won’t come willingly, you know that.”

“So, we kidnap her if we have to.” Oliver was determined. “Lex isn’t known to have the best security. I’m sure there’s a way to get to her.”

“And if we keep her against her will, she’ll find a way to escape. She doesn’t trust us, she’s not herself, I could feel it when I saw her last. You know they’ve done something to her.”

Oliver couldn’t help it, his voice rose in frustration. “What do you suggest then, Clark? I want her back. Now.”

They watched as the black sedan pulled into the entry gates of Luthor Mansion. “I can get in there tonight and check things out first,” Clark offered. “Find out where they’re keeping her, maybe try to talk to her again.”

He nodded in answer and swallowed hard, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “I have to get her back, Clark.” Seeing her again brought all the pain flooding back as though he’d lost her yesterday, and his entire being ached, missing her. So close, she was so close.

Clark looked at his friend sympathetically. “I know. We all want her back, Oliver.”

He felt himself trembling slightly with emotion, and pulled over onto the side of the road resting his elbow on the interior window ledge of the door, breathing deeply to calm himself. He rubbed a hand over his face once, curved fingers settling over his lips briefly. “When she saw me, I think she may have remembered something about me. I don’t know, but there was something in the way she looked at me.” Oliver turned to Clark. “If I could just see her again, and talk to her.”

“You will. We’ll get her back. I’ll get in there and let you know what I find. What did she say to you?”

“She called me Mr. Queen, apologized for spilling coffee on me, cleaned me up, and then said ‘Wow’,” Oliver shrugged.

Clark’s expression relaxed slightly, a small inward smile appearing on his lips. He’d remembered something.

“What is it?”

Clark shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just… well, that’s what she said the first time she ever saw you in my barn. ‘_Wow_’,” Clark did his best Chloe imitation.

“She said that?”

“Yeah, I guess you’ve made an impression on her, both first times you’ve met her.”

“A good first impression, twice.” Oliver’s voice trailed off in thought. He knew he was grasping at straws. “Then maybe there was something, some subconscious memory of me.”

“I don’t know, Oliver, maybe.”

Oliver turned the car around, heading back toward the Talon, his thoughts drifting as he drove. After the first night he and Chloe spent together, they didn’t talk about it further. That night as they lay naked together on the living room floor afterward, she had told him not to worry. But lust wasn’t always so simple. After the team had taken care of the warehouse that was being used in illegal drug trade, he’d gone away for a few weeks, business and other obligations taking him elsewhere. When he and Chloe spoke on the phone or corresponded through emails, nothing had changed on the surface, and they still had an easy rapport, and maintained a great working relationship. But phone calls had grown more frequent and conversations began to drift to more personal things, and emails were less work related.

The first trip back to Metropolis since they’d slept together, he was anxious, and though they’d spoken to each other, he hadn’t seen her in weeks. He was uncertain as to how he’d react upon being in the same room with her, or how she’d react around him, thinking things would be awkward. Surprisingly they weren’t so much. He needed to see her at the penthouse for League related business, and though she seemed a bit shy around him at first, once they became Watchtower and Arrow, any remnants of shyness fell away, yet each of them was extremely aware of the other’s presence in the room.

And then work was done, and she was preparing to leave, and suddenly he couldn’t let her go. His mind cast about for reasons to keep her with him, he could offer to take her to dinner, ask her to check on some new information, but it was after midnight, and dinner seemed wrong, and new information was non-existent. Finally he settled on taking the chance of simply speaking her name softly, reaching for her hand and tugging her toward him. When she stepped into his arms, and gazed up at him, her green eyes searching his brown ones, finding his unspoken desire and longing there, she reached for him, pulling his head down and brushed her parted lips against his. And for the first time that night, he relaxed completely, enfolding her and pulling her up against him, deepening the kiss, relieved in the knowledge that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

He took her to his bed, and even as his body entered hers, each of them finding passionate, mindless ecstasy and release in each other once more, again in the back of his mind he knew that this wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough. But he didn’t want to dwell on it. And so it went this way for months, and the needing her grew stronger, and the wanting her grew stronger. And when he needed to simply hear her voice as she told him about her day, or see her smile, or simply be near her, or when he thought of her for no reason, or did things only for her, he realized this was never just about sex. Not even the first time. Because being away from her in any capacity, being without her, became torturous and he wondered when and how it had happened. When had he fallen? How had she found her way into his heart without his knowledge? He kept it to himself, this falling in love with her. Hid it away. Hid her away.

And then she was gone, missing, taken from him, and he’d been stupid, never telling her enough how he felt. She knew he loved her. He’d shown her in many ways with actions, but he’d never really said it, not really, not the way he should have. And now she was here. He’d found her. She didn’t remember him, but he was going to get her back, even if it meant he had to make her fall in love with him all over again. “Wow,” he murmured to himself. It was one simple word, and he clung to it. Maybe that was a start.

* * * * * * * *

“Did you see or talk to anyone today?”

“No. I told you, after some shopping, I went to Talon to pick up some coffee, and that was it.”

Lex stood up from behind his desk. “It’s very important that you speak to no one. We have many enemies, people who are envious of my position.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “My men tell me you ran into Oliver Queen.”

“Oh yes, but nothing happened other than I spilled coffee on the poor man.”

“And you didn’t say anything to him?”

“Well I apologized for probably ruining his jacket and possibly burning him, but that was it really.”

Lex seemed satisfied that she didn’t remember Oliver. He squeezed her shoulder gently, and offered her a smile. “Good.” He rounded his desk, dropping into the chair. “Dr. Benson needs to see you again for more sessions, he thinks you’re progressing.”

“I’m glad he thinks so.”

“What do you mean?” Lex leaned forward, his elbows on the desk.

“I don’t feel I’m any closer to remembering anything.”

“Well, it can’t hurt. A car will take you in an hour. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

Chloe looked skeptical, but nodded. She turned to leave.

“Oh, and pack an overnight bag. You’ll be staying the night at the Met U research wing.”

“Lex, are you sure about this doctor?”

“He’s the best money can buy. I have faith in him, you should too.”

“I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”

Lex smiled. “What are friends for?”

She offered him a small smile of her own, but when Chloe left his office, her face was once again shrouded in uncertainty.

Lex didn’t trust Oliver Queen; he’d heard that Oliver had been in town on and off. He knew Chloe, even if only casually from having dated her cousin some time ago. Lex picked up his phone, dialing. “Yes. Find out what Queen is doing in town, and what business if any he has here. Get back to me when you’ve got something.”

  
**End Chapter 5  
**


	6. 6

 

**Déjà vu  
Chapter 6**

He had Bart slip into the Luthor mansion after Clark hadn’t found her there. Bart was able to copy some files from Lex’s computer, as well as from Chloe’s. He’d also handed Oliver a prescription bottle, with disgust. “The bastard’s been drugging her.”

Oliver was just as disgusted, and clenched the bottle in his hand, noting the name of the prescribing doctor, then tossed it into the garbage. He accessed her computer files. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she’d been doing research on the Green Arrow. He was certain that soon she’d put the pieces together and for the second time, she’d discover on her own who he really was. Lex was using her. What if once she’d figured him out, she revealed what she’d found? Oliver couldn’t let that happen, and the reasons for getting her back, increased exponentially. The files from Lex’s computer were helpful, and Oliver thought he’d found where Lex had been taking her for treatments. It was the small wing of the Met U hospital, they’d already known about. The same wing Dr. Benson worked from. He’d tried to have Victor access the patient data, but there was no indication that anyone by the name of Chloe Sullivan had ever been admitted.

He decided it was worth a shot anyway to stake out the building alone, if she wasn’t at the mansion, in all likelihood, she was there. It was too much of a coincidence that since Chloe’s disappearance, two new doctors aside from Dr. Benson had been hired onto the staff, with payments made directly from Luthorcorp funds, as well as increased monetary donations to the wing in the last month.

The Green Arrow waited on a nearby rooftop watching for any sign of her entering or exiting the Met U wing. He wasn’t disappointed. Around midnight, he saw a familiar black sedan pull up to the rear entrance. He maneuvered around the rooftop stakeout for a better view. Soon he saw her being escorted from the building, and ushered into the car.

Oliver used his crossbow to rappel down into the alley, and then ran ahead, hoping to somehow block their exit. As the car traveled slowly toward him, he heaved an empty garbage can onto the hood of the car, causing the driver to stop abruptly.

“What the hell was that?”

“I dunno,” the other suit on the passenger side, answered. “Stay here, I’ll check it out.” He pulled out his weapon, and exited the vehicle.

Chloe was in the backseat, and tried to peer through the closed windows. She looked behind her. There was nothing.

They waited several moments. Finally, impatient, the driver turned to her. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Chloe simply nodded, though she was worried.

The Green Arrow dispatched the second man as quickly has he done the first, knocking him out and setting him alongside his partner against the brick wall of a building. He waited. If he knew Chloe, she’d be stepping out in moments. Her curiosity wouldn’t allow her to sit for long.

Chloe exited the car, her eyes searching the darkness for her two bodyguards. They were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a gloved hand covered her mouth and a strong arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back against a hard body behind her.

“Don’t make a sound. Do you have your tazer gun?” a deep metallic sounding voice spoke in her ear. The smell of leather wafted to her nostrils.

Tazer gun? How would he know she owned one? She shook her head, her eyes wide, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. He dragged her away, and only then did she try to struggle against him. Whoever he was, he was much taller and stronger than she was, and she knew that without her tazer gun it was a futile attempt, but she had to try.

“Be still, I won’t hurt you,” he then grunted as her elbow connected somewhere. Good. But he maintained his hold, and still continued to drag her, or rather carry her now, since her feet were barely touching the ground, through the alley to some unknown location further away from the hospital. No amount of kicking or flailing about seemed to have any effect on him.

It was hard to breath, she struggled for air, and tried to utter a string of curses under his gloved hand that only sounded like muffled noises to her own ears.

“Such language, Ms. Sullivan. I’m shocked.”

Ms. Sullivan? He knew her name?

He’d finally stopped blocks away from the hospital, and backed into a doorway, pushing the door open with his shoulder.

Typical, she thought. A warehouse. Where else would the villain take his victims? Her eyes darted around the dimly lit expanse of space, noting boxes and stacks of crates along the walls and in far corners of the room. She searched out the exits frantically; trying to decide which one she should run toward. Finally he stopped, setting her on her feet.

Oliver could feel her heart pounding wildly beneath his hands. Her fear making her tremble. He didn’t want to frighten her. He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t harm her, but he needed her to stay put. He spoke again calmly through his voice modulator. “There’s no one here but the two of us. You can scream if you’d like, but no one will hear you. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to let go of you now, but we need to talk. I don’t want to have to tie you up, but if you try to run away, I will. Understood?”

Chloe nodded, and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth, grasping her wrist and turning her around to face him, keeping an arm around her waist.

“You!” she shouted, gasping for breath.

“You were expecting someone else?” he smirked.

Chloe raised her fist to strike him, but he caught her wrist before she could connect and pinned her arm behind her back. The action brought their bodies together, pressed up closely. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Chloe.” She was a fighter, and feisty, and God he loved her.

“What do you want?” she panted, her breasts heaving against him, her green eyes defiant “You have the wrong person.”

Arrow didn’t want to waste any time, getting right to the point. “You’ve lost your memory, am I right? And Lex is helping you, under the pretense of friendship to regain it, I imagine. He’s letting you stay at the mansion, allowing you to believe he’s simply a very good friend who has your best interests at heart.”

How could the Green Arrow know this? Why would he know this? “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me go.” She struggled against him, but it only caused him to grip her more intimately close to his body.

“I’ll wager he’s asking you to use your skills to hunt me down?”

“Again. What do you want?”

“I want you to remember. Remember that we’re partners. We work together, _against_ men like Lex Luthor. I need you to remember me, Sidekick.”

She stopped struggling for a moment, and he watched as her gaze upon him turned from defiant to curious, to utterly blank.

Flashes, lasting split seconds entered her mind.

  
_“We trust each other. Clark tells me everything -- well, almost everything. I did have to figure out about your green-leather fetish on my lonesome. Don't worry. I didn't say anything to Lois. Although, you might want to consider…”_

_“Hey, let's just stick to the main plot, there, Sidekick,” he said, grinning down at her, hoping to avoid any rant against him regarding her cousin. “ So, what’ve you got?”_

* * * *

_“Green Arrow to Watchtower, I’m in position.”_

She examined the large screen in front of her. “Okay, there should be a security access panel near the east door. According to this schematic, you need to very carefully rewire the system…”

  
Lightening continued to flash in her brain, like watching various unrelated scenes from a movie played on fast-forward.

  
_“Good morning, Sidekick,” he whispered, soft lips against her throat._

_“Ever think that maybe you’re **my** Sidekick?”_

_He kissed the curve of her neck. “Yes, but I’d never admit it to anyone.” He smiled, getting up from the bed and making his way toward the bathroom completely naked._

_She admired the amazing view. “I thought so.” She rolled her eyes. “Men.”_

_“You know you love me anyway.” He paused for effect. “Sidekick.” He ducked in time as the flying pillow aimed at him, just missed his head._

_She squealed with laughter as he dove back onto the mattress, reaching for her, pulling her across the sheets toward him, pinning her hands down on either side of her head as he moved over her, soft curves against his hard body, skin pressing deliciously against skin._

_“You are so going to pay for that,” he murmured seductively in her ear. Kissing her everywhere until her laughter subsided, turning into soft moans and cries for him._

* * * *

_She stood over him, one hand on her hip, the other clutching his crossbow. “Uh huh, and who's the Sidekick now?”_

_He grinned up at her sheepishly, and then stood to his full height, brushing dirt from his leather pants. He towered over her, ruffling her golden hair. He then wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and pressing a kiss to her temple. “What would I do without you?”_

_“Well for starters, you’d have been food for whatever that brown hairy blob phantom-zone reject thing was that I just shot,” she said, gesturing toward the dead beast a few feet away, an arrow protruding from its back._

_“My hero,” he crooned, and then picked her up, kissing her thoroughly._

_And just as lightening flashes, brilliant and frightening, beautiful and elusive, it was quickly gone in a matter of seconds, and no matter how hard she tried to chase the visions, they’d vanished._

_* * * * _

The Green Arrow felt her body tense once again, struggling against him.

“I don’t know you. I don’t want to know you. You’ve got the wrong woman.”

“I’ve got the right woman. Please remember me.”

“If I were your ‘Sidekick’, then where were you? Why was Lex the one to find me, and not you?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t find you; I searched for you for a month. We all did. So many people care about you, Chloe. Lex is the one who kidnapped you, hid you away. I can’t prove that part, but I can prove the rest. How would I know you’ve lost your memory if I didn’t know you at all, Chloe?”

Chloe diverted her eyes. “I-I don’t know.”

Arrow shook her in his arms lightly, bringing her eyes back to him. “Admit it, things don’t add up, do they? Where did he find you?”

She hesitated.

“Answer me.”

“I was… I was already in a hospital.”

“Yes, one funded by Luthorcorp. And let me guess, you’re getting treatment for your memory loss, but it’s not helping is it?”

“No, it’s not,” she whispered.

“And everything you’ve learned about yourself is from Lex.”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve probably done searches on the name Chloe Sullivan, and all have come up empty.”

“Yes.”

“He has you watched, and guarded, never letting anyone speak to you.”

“Yes.”

Oliver felt her body practically go limp in defeat against his, and thought she looked on the verge of tears. It broke his heart, but if it meant bringing her back to him, he’d more than make up for whatever tears he’d caused her to shed. He released her arm from behind her back slowly, surprised to find that she remained flush against him for support. Her head fell forward against his chest.

“It’s okay,” he said, cupping her head, gloved hand stroking her hair.

“Please let me go,” she wept.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I love you, Chloe.”

“I don’t remember you. I don’t know who you are.”

Suddenly the various doors around the warehouse were flung open, and six armed men stormed inside, weapons pointing toward the couple.

Lex Luthor strode in casually seconds later. “Let her go, Arrow.”

Oliver didn’t release her.

“If you thought you could get to me by kidnapping a good family friend, then you are mistaken. Now, let her go.”

Chloe whispered against his chest. “Please do as he says. He’ll have you killed if you don’t.”

“No.”

“If what you say is true, I’ll meet you again,” she said quietly so that only he could hear.

Lex took a step closer.

Oliver knew that after this, there might not be a next time. Lex would watch her more closely, or he’d have her under more treatment to cause her to forget.

“Please,” she whispered again. “I don’t want you to die. If it’s true that you love me, let me go.”

Slowly, reluctantly his arms began to fall away from her.

“Come here, Chloe. You’re safe now,” Lex called to her.

She left the Green Arrow’s arms, his gloved hand trailing after her, grazing her palm, and walked toward Lex numbly, casting a glance back at the man in green leather, as she was escorted through the door by one of Lex’s guards.

Lex waited until she was out of earshot. He remained motionless, simply staring at the Green Arrow for a few moments, a slow smile curving his lips. “Kill him,” he ordered, and left the building.

Arrow reached behind him, grasping his crossbow and firing toward the rafters as shots rang out around him. He was lifted, swung and kicked his way through a window, crashing through, but not before a bullet grazed his shoulder and another his leg. He landed outside, stumbling briefly, and fired his bow again, this time skyward.

Chloe heard the sounds of gunfire from the warehouse as she entered the limo, and panicked. “What are they doing? What’s happening?” The driver shoved her inside, closing the door.

Lex approached the window where she sat. “He’s our enemy Chloe. He tried to kidnap you, and he attacked the men back there!”

“He didn’t hurt me!”

“What did he say to you, Chloe?”

“I don’t know. He made no sense,” she wept uncontrollably now.

Lex wondered whom her tears were for. He didn’t believe that nothing had happened, and wondered why the Green Arrow had taken such an interest in her. There had to be more to it than getting back at him. Did he know Chloe? The way that he’d found them together, the way Arrow was holding her, would suggest some deeper connection. If he did know her, evidently Chloe didn’t remember him, but Lex didn’t want to take chances.

He left her window, stepping away toward the driver. “Take her back to the facility. Tell Dr. Benson, she needs more treatment, he’ll understand.” The driver nodded, and turned down the alley back toward the hospital.

“Mr. Luthor.”

Lex turned at the sound of his name.

“He got away, sir.”

When the Green Arrow had reached a nearby rooftop, he checked his wounds quickly, picking broken glass from his costume, and some small pieces embedded in his skin. Luckily the gunshot grazes were mere scratches. Finding his injuries to be minor, he watched as Lex and his men left the scene, and then headed home. He’d get to her again. He had to.

  
**End Chapter 6**


	7. 7

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 7**

  
She dreamt of him again. Chloe lay in her bed at the mansion; not wanting to move knowing that as soon as her feet touched the floor that it would be difficult to grasp any remnants of the dream and keep them in her mind. It had already begun to fade, just as the sun burns away the mist, wakefulness carried away the visions, leaving only the emotions to linger, as a reminder that she’d dreamt at all.

She kicked off the covers, padding over to the desk where the police sketch sat. She studied it for the hundredth time, fingertips reaching out to trace the pencil-drawn lines of his jaw, his lips. Something still wasn’t right about it, even more so now that she’d seen him up close. He’d given life to the two-dimensional drawing in her hand that she now found completely lacking. She’d been right. He was so much more than what this piece of paper could ever show.

Lex had sent her away for a week to another facility, but after her first encounter with the Green Arrow, what tenuous trust she had in Lex grew thinner. While there, she’d started hiding the medication they gave her between her cheek and gum, spitting it out after the nurse left. The treatments Dr. Benson gave her no longer seemed to be working; she wasn’t certain why. She pretended not to remember much about her meeting with the Green Arrow. But she remembered most of it despite their efforts to cloud her memory. She remembered it, and now he filled her thoughts constantly. What bothered her most was, why? It was a question she needed to answer, and there was only one person who could, and she was staring at sketch of his likeness wishing there was a way to reach him.

Her investigations into the Green Arrow showed that he did indeed resort to tactics that would amount to terrorism, but upon further digging, she’d discovered that his targets were mainly against known criminals; drug lords, crime bosses, and the like, and then there were the stolen priceless artifacts returned to their rightful places. She’d also discovered an unexpected link in his activities. Anonymous donations in large sums, made to charitable organizations, orphanages saved, AIDS research funded. The Green Arrow had been busy. But why had he targeted Lex? It was another question she needed to answer and coupled with her growing distrust of him, it was one she intended to find the answer to on her own.

* * * * * *

Lex sat at his desk, pondering the entire situation with Chloe. She’d found an entire folder of information about the Green Arrow, but none of it was useful to him. Most of it he’d already known, and he didn’t believe any of the charitable nonsense she’d shown him. Thus far, the Green Arrow had made no further attempts to contact her, but he still wondered over what possible relationship existed between them.

Her ability had not returned, Dr. Benson came to the conclusion that whatever had happened in the experiment, had probably rid her of it. It was unfortunate, but there seemed to be nothing more to do. He suggested to Lex that they use the visitor database from the ISIS foundation to find more possible test subjects. He might have to send Chloe along to see if she remembered how to use the system, and get past password blocks, however he didn’t want to rouse her suspicion.

Her memory hadn’t returned either, and evidently she didn’t recall much of what had happened during her near kidnapping by the Green Arrow. Lex was satisfied with Dr. Benson’s assessment that she needed no further treatments, unless absolutely necessary, and aside from being an excellent information gatherer, he wasn’t certain what he should do with her. She’d endeared herself to the staff however, and even Lex had to admit that her presence lent a lighter, livelier air to the mansion.

“Excuse me, Mr. Luthor. Oliver Queen is here, sir. He’s waiting downstairs.”

Odd. Why would Queen be showing up? “Let him wait a few minutes, I’ll let you know when to bring him up.”

Oliver stood in the foyer of the mansion waiting.

“Is there a meeting of the billionaire boys club I haven’t heard about?” Oliver turned at the sound of her voice, unable to keep from grinning at her approach. Once again she was nearly stupefied by the sheer beauty of the man, but thankfully managed to maintain her composure around him this time. “Hello Mr. Queen,” she smiled shyly. “I’d offer you a cup of coffee, but I don’t know if you’d trust me not to spill it on you.” She teased, not completely sure that he’d even remember her.

He slipped the manila folder he carried under his arm and extended his hand to her, taking her hand in his. “Please, call me Oliver. And as long as there’s plenty of napkins to go around, I’ll have coffee with you anytime, Miss…”

“Sullivan. Chloe Sullivan,” she supplied, smiling up at him.

“You work for Lex?”

“Yes, well. Just help him out a little.”

He held onto her hand longer than necessary, watching her smile fade slightly, as a fleeting look of bewilderment entered her eyes.

  
_“I'm looking forward to your article on Dark Thursday. I hope my satellite images helped.”_

_“Oh… yeah. Yeah.”_

_“Good. It was good to meet you.”_

  
“Pardon me, Mr. Queen. Mr. Luthor will see you now.”

The light returned to her eyes immediately, and he released her hand. “It was nice to see you again, Chloe.”

“Likewise, Mr.. uhh.. Oliver. I’d better get back to work.”

She smiled over her shoulder as she left, and he watched her walk away, his heart tagging after her.

Lex sat lazily in his chair. Not bothering to stand up when Oliver entered. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“If you wanted to know what I was doing in Metropolis, a simple phone call would have sufficed. We could have talked about old times.” Oliver tossed the manila folder on Lex’s desk. “There’s a copy of my schedule for the week. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Lex glanced down at the unopened folder, and then leaned back in his chair. “Come on, Queen. No hard feelings, I was simply curious. Wouldn’t you do the same if I decided to spend time in Star City?”

“The difference is, I wouldn’t get caught doing it.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No. Don’t bother getting up. I know the way out.”

They stared each other down for a long moment, until Oliver turned, and left the office. Checking to make certain that the hallways were cleared, he pulled his comlink from his jacket pocket, and placed it in his ear. “Are the security feeds down yet?” he asked, his voice hushed.

Victor’s voice answered. “Yeah, you’ve got like three minutes to get there, do your thing and get out, because that’s how long the video feed loop is. You remember where Bart told you to find her room?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, go. And don’t get caught.”

Oliver made his way to her room, keeping a cautious eye out for any guards or staff. He opened the door, stepping into the dimness of the room. There were a few folders, post it notes, her laptop, and a smudge worn police sketch of the Green Arrow on her desk. He wouldn’t leave the packet there. Instead he went to her bed. She’d always slept on the left side. Pulling back the covers, he removed the brown envelope from inside his jacket, slipped it under the blankets, and then fixed the bed again.

“Better get out of there, someone’s on their way,” Victor warned.

“I’m out,” Oliver answered as he moved hastily back to the hallway again, and down the steps toward the front door. But he had one more thing to do before he left, and stepped toward the kitchen area in the direction he’d last seen Chloe heading.

“What are you doing, man? Get out of there.”

“Wait. I need to see her.”

“Ollie, if all goes well, you’ll see her tomorrow night.”

“It’s not the same.”

“Do you really think this is a good idea?”

“I don’t care, I want to see her.”

Oliver stuck his head in the kitchen and leaned casually against the doorframe. Chloe was at the counter, her back to him. She was cutting vegetables, laughing and talking with a short, dark-haired woman he assumed to be the cook. He simply watched her for a moment. His heart ached, missing her, and this domestic scene was a bittersweet reminder of what he’d lost, and hoped to have again with her. He cleared his throat. “Excuse me.”

His presence shocked both women. “Mr. Queen, did you get to see Lex?” Chloe wiped her hands on a dishtowel, suddenly nervous.

“It’s Oliver, and yes I did,” he smiled. “I think we’ve come to a new agreement. But, I was wondering, Chloe. If I brought the napkins, would you have coffee with me tomorrow?”

“Oh man, that’s lame Ollie,” Victor chuckled in his earpiece, and Oliver cursed himself for not taking it out. Now it was too late to remove it, and he hoped Chloe wouldn’t notice.

Chloe blushed to the roots of her hair. “Oh. Uh. I’d love to… but, uh,” _Stop it Sullivan, or the man will think you’re a dolt. Get it together. _“I’d love to Oliver, but I’ll have to see if Lex needs me for anything first.”

“He’s got her on lockdown, man,” Victor’s voice again. “But I think she’s diggin’ on ya. What do you think, Impulse?”

“Oh yeah, sounds like she’s definitely got the hots for ya, dude.”

Oliver pulled out his wallet, slipping a business card from it. He stepped closer, handing it to her. “My personal number is listed there, if you can get away in the afternoon, please let me know. I’d love to see you again.”

“Now you gotta admit that was smooth,” Bart said.

“He does have the moves,” Victor agreed.

“No shit, I’m taking notes.”

Chloe glanced down at the embossed Queen Industries card with Oliver’s personal line and cell phone number imprinted in dark green lettering. She smiled up at him, her cheeks coloring. “Thank you Mr…” she stopped and rolled her eyes at herself, laughing lightly. “Oliver. Thank you, and I will let you know before noon.”

Bart chuckled. “She’s got it bad, dude. I think you’re in.”

“Ah, true love,” Victor sighed. “You just can’t keep it down.”

“Great,” Oliver returned her smile. “Talk to you tomorrow, then.”

After he left, Chloe turned to Marianne, the business card clasped to her chest, her mouth agape, and her eyes wide. “What just happened?” Chloe asked the cook.

“All I know is, if you don’t go have coffee with that man tomorrow, I will.”

* * * * * *

Lex had a few more visitors, and then was gone for the evening. Chloe wanted to take advantage of his absence, but she’d need to disable the video feeds first. She found it odd at times that although she’d lost portions of her memory, there were still things she’d not forgotten how to do, or skills she didn’t have to relearn. The mind was certainly a mystery, and she was thankful that she’d retained hacking and research abilities; they hadn’t failed her, even if she couldn’t remember something like getting fired from the Daily Planet, or the Green Arrow.

Once the feed was disabled, Chloe entered Lex’s office and copied numerous files from his computer. She then enabled the video feed again, and went to her room, turning on her laptop. Ever present was the drawing of the Green Arrow at her side.

There was a lot to go through. She’d come upon various projects with names like Ares and Scion, but there was so much data, it would take longer than she’d expected to go through it all.

Finally tiring, she decided to go to bed. She’d talk to Lex in the morning about letting her have an afternoon away, hoping she wouldn’t have to be escorted by body guards just to have coffee with Oliver Queen. She undressed thinking about him, and wondering what they’d talk about, little butterflies swarming in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. She pulled the pajama tank top over her head, slipped into the bottoms, and then pulled back the sheets.

And then she saw it. A brown packet in her bed. Her name was written on the front of it, and there was something odd inside. She tore into it, flipping it upside down and shaking out the contents. A car key and what looked to be a building key on a ring fell onto the bed. Chloe stuck her hand inside the envelope, and slid out a folded piece of paper. It was a typed note, and Chloe’s heart beat faster with every word she read.

_Chloe,_

_Meet me tomorrow night on the roof of the ISIS building. Midnight. Come alone, and make certain no one follows you. You’ll need to disable Lex’s security and video systems, but I’m sure you already knew that, and I’m sure you know how._

_You might not remember ISIS, so directions and a map are on the back of this note. The building key is on the ring._

_Once you leave the Luthor mansion gates, you’ll find a an empty car waiting for you parked behind the stand of oak trees a few blocks west of the mansion. It’s your Yaris._

_It’s important that I speak with you._

_Arrow_

**End Chapter 7**


	8. 8

 

 

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 8**

“I don’t know what your interest is in Chloe Sullivan, Queen. But stay away from her.”

Oliver sat at his desk, phone to his ear. He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk, crossed at the ankles. “What’s the matter Lex? Afraid I’ll steal away one of your employees?” Oliver was expecting this; he’d already spoken to Chloe who told him that unfortunately, she couldn’t get away to meet him. He was consoled by the fact that she’d sounded terribly disappointed.

“Not at all, I’m simply wondering why a man who once dated Chloe’s cousin, now has his sights set on her. Are you making the rounds through all the females in the family? Her mother is lovely as well. Although, she is rather quiet.”

Oliver chuckled humorlessly. “It was coffee, Lex, not a marriage proposal. She’s an old acquaintance. No harm in that.”

“Stay away from her.”

“Or what? If anything, you’re little possessive display and harmless threat, has just made her increasingly worth pursuing. Unless you have romantic notions of your own, what is she to you, anyway?”

“She’s a friend, and she’s not been well. I’ve been helping her, and I don’t need you to ruin what progress she’s made.”

“Ah, you mean the memory loss? Yes, I found it odd when she didn’t remember me, but I doubt one coffee date would ruin her progress, which begs the question; what are you so worried about?”

Lex hesitated. When Chloe had come to him wanting an afternoon away, and telling him why, he could immediately sense her infatuation with the blonde billionaire. It was more than coffee to her, and Lex couldn’t allow it. He’d told her that regrettably, he had work for her to do, and that she’d have to let Mr. Queen know that she couldn’t meet him today. “Nothing. Just… leave her alone,” he growled, and hung up, ending the call abruptly.

Oliver pressed the end of the phone to his chin thoughtfully, a slow smile spreading on his face. Lex was worried, and anything that caused anxiety for Lex, had to be a good thing.

* * * * * * *

  
She stepped out onto the rooftop, closing the heavy door behind her, sensing rather than seeing him in the shadows beyond the subdued lighting. “I’m here. Alone. What do you want?”

“I want you to remember who you are, Chloe,” came the distorted voice, not far from her, and she’d wondered how long he’d been there, hidden.

She took a step toward his voice. “Well unfortunately, Mr. Arrow, I don’t.”

The Green Arrow had been there awhile. He had wanted to be certain that she’d be alone, and so he’d waited on the roof of the ISIS building long before she was due to arrive, making certain that she was neither followed nor accompanied by anyone. He stepped out of the darkness and near the edge of the dim array of illumination provided by a small utility light above the door she’d just exited. He moved closer to her, setting down his crossbow, making a show of hands in a gesture to let her know that he was effectively unarmed. “Let me help you. I can help you regain your memory if you’ll come with me.”

“Lex says...”

“Lex.”

She overlooked the disdain in his voice. “Lex says you’re a terrorist. And from the information I’ve found, it certainly looks as though you are.” She took a few steps around him, keeping her distance. “But I’m also aware of your charitable activities. It seems you’re a regular modern-day Robin Hood.”

“Has he submitted you to more of his ‘treatments’? Convinced you that I’m the enemy?” He took a step in the opposite direction, as they circled one another, but he moved closer, and she gained no distance.

“I don’t trust Lex, but I don’t know if I can trust you, either.” She paused, eyeing him skeptically. “Is that your interest in me? Because you know I’m researching you? You’re afraid I’ll find out who you really are and expose you to the world?”

It was like a dance, Oliver thought randomly, the way they moved around each other slowly, each step bringing them gradually closer to one another. “No. I’m well aware of your intelligence, and your ability to uncover the truth on your own. But, Lex has shown you his truth. Let me show you mine.” He stepped closer, and saw her eyes widen slightly. “I’d never hurt you,” he said reassuringly, standing nearly beside her now, holding a gloved hand out to her. “Come with me,” he urged quietly.

Here he was. The man who’d invaded her mind, holding his hand out to her, offering her his truth, and something more, something else she wasn’t certain she wanted to think about. “No. I’ve agreed to talk, nothing more.”

“I have proof. If you’ll come with me, I can show you.”

“The truth is, I came here because you haunt my thoughts and dreams, and I want to know why.” She looked away from him then, the self-admonishment in her voice, evident. “Apparently, I have some unhealthy fascination with you.” Her eyes sought him again, finding he’d moved closer. “I came here because I want to know why Lex wants to see you dead. I want to know why you’re interested in some of his business ventures and research facilities. I want to know what you know about him.” She didn’t trust him enough to reveal what she’d discovered, but if she could find out what he knew, it might confirm her suspicions about Lex. As she spoke, he continued to circle her moving closer still. “What are you doing?” She asked, reaching for the tazer gun in her purse.

He was behind her now, and Chloe stood motionless, her pulse pounding and her breath quickening at the brush of his body at her back. “I’m showing you the reason I haunt your dreams in the only way I can right now.” His head descended as he slipped a gloved hand around her waist, fingers splayed over the flat of her stomach, pulling her back against him.

“By assaulting me?” She attempted to move away from him, tazer gun now in her hand.

He tightened his hold, preventing her from movement, pressing her body closer to his. “Wait. Listen to me. I’m willing to risk being tazered just to stand this close to you, Chloe. Hear me out.”

She seemed to relax somewhat, and accept his invasion of her space, and the pressure of his body against her back. But she was still wary, he felt the nervous tension in her body, and Oliver thought she’d use the tazer, and run away at any moment.

“We know each other very well. Your fascination isn’t odd at all. You’ve had me equally fascinated for a long time now. It’s not unhealthy at all. In fact we get along well, and are pretty happy together in spite of our crazy lives.”

If all he’d said were true, this man knew her and maybe he could help after all. “Tell me what you know about me?” she asked softly. She really wanted to know.

Chloe felt his lips against her hair as he spoke. “You went to Smallville High School where you were the editor of the school paper,” he began slowly. “You interned at the Daily Planet. Your father’s name is Gabe, your mother is Moira; I’ve met them both. Your best friend is Clark Kent. Your cousin is Lois Lane. I know you have an insatiable curiosity that gets you into trouble, and that’s why you decided to meet me again. I know you can’t function without your first cup of coffee… I know about your meteor ability.”

Gradually, he calmed her, soothed her as he continued to speak.

“You’re loyal and trustworthy, intelligent, quick-witted, stubborn, and sometimes you lack confidence in yourself when you shouldn’t. You’re also very giving and will do just about anything to help those you love if you can. Your smile can light up a room, turning every man in it to mush, and when you’re angry those same men run for cover. You’re independent and strong-willed, yet vulnerable. You’re a truth-seeker, and you fight against injustices. Ask me anything about you, I know the answers, I can fill in the blanks.”

Chloe felt as though entranced, lulled by his deep, altered voice so close to her ear behind her, she closed her eyes, and her head fell back against his chest as he spoke. She allowed it when he’d slipped his other arm around her, enfolding her, cradling her with both arms now, and he began to rock her ever so gently in small, slow, intermittent swaying motions as he pressed his cheek to the top of her head. Under the voice distortion, his tone was almost pleading, begging her to remember anything. What was it about him that drew her? Was telling the truth? It seemed that way. Maybe that’s why she felt so comforted by his presence now. She should be afraid of him, it was crazy not to be, but oddly she wasn’t, and something about being in his arms felt safe.

Oliver felt her body relax against his, knowing he had her rapt attention, and continued speaking, nuzzling her hair. “Lex had you kidnapped, he must have done something to you, some experiments I don’t know, to cause you to lose your memory, and the reason those treatments don’t help, is because he’s keeping you from remembering.”

“I know that now. It took me awhile, but I figured it out. I still don’t remember things. I don’t remember you,” she whispered, her eyes still closed.

Oliver was becoming desperate for her to remember something, anything about him. And she was here, in his arms again, and he was willing to do anything to keep her in his embrace, even for a few moments. She was not averse to his touch, and obviously intrigued by him. Maybe there was something there he could work with. Against his better judgment, he found himself wanting to kiss her and touch her more intimately, the way he’d done for six months before she was missing. He didn’t want to frighten her, she didn’t remember him, but he couldn’t help himself. He turned her in his arms slowly, locking his hands against her spine, holding her close. She gazed up at him, a vaguely sensuous light passing between them. She didn’t move, not even when he lowered his head and she felt his breath against her neck.

“How would I know that you love to be kissed right here?” he whispered, touching soft warm lips just under her ear. Nuzzling her, his breath fanning her neck.

Chloe shivered and closed her eyes, unconsciously tipping her head to give him better access. “I don’t know,” she whispered. There was something so familiar about the way he held her, and the way his mouth felt against her skin, and even something about the sound of his voice through the distorter, and the smell of leather, that had her stomach fluttering and her heart pounding wildly. His nearness overwhelmed her. “Why…did you just do that? Why would I let you?” she breathed. “I want to know, I want to remember but I can’t.” Her hands had stilled over the leather-covered expanse of his hard chest, her tazer gun long forgotten.

“You want me to touch you. You always have.”

She could hear the arrogance in his voice. “Let me guess, because you’re so irresistible?” she scoffed, half-heartedly. She had once originally thought to pull his hood down, and possibly reveal his identity, but those thoughts were long gone, as he seemed to be casting some spell around her since she’d first seen him, leaving her senseless.

He smiled against the curve of her neck. He’d missed her snark; he’d missed everything about her.

“What else do you know about me?”

His lips moved softly, grazing a sensuous path over her jaw line and cheek. “I know how good you taste,” he continued, his lips moving dangerously close to hers. “I know every sound you make,” he breathed. His eyes, hidden from her, closed over as he brushed his nose against hers. “The way you reach for me, and your fingers dig into me and pull me closer when I’m inside you.” his lips touched hers soft as butterfly wings.

She seemed receptive to his kiss until his last sentence somehow snapped her out of her stupor. Her eyes flew open. She pushed at his chest, avoiding his lips. “No. It’s not true. You’re lying.” Yet some part of her knew he wasn’t. There was something… something about this mysterious man in green leather she couldn’t put her finger on, something potent, and real that she couldn’t explain. She’d felt it last time too, and now even more so.

Oliver knew he’d possibly gone too far, but right now he’d do anything to jog a memory, and admittedly, he’d been dying to kiss her. “I know about the little birthmark you have on your backside,” The Green Arrow lifted his head slightly to see her shocked expression. He spared her a confident smirk. “Yes. You know it’s true, Chloe.” He raised a gloved hand, caressing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “You feel something, don’t deny it.”

Her brows knit in confusion. She couldn’t lie; she did feel an overwhelming attraction to him. “We were lovers.” She shook her head. “How?”

“Not were. Are. We are lovers.”

“I-I wouldn’t do that with someone I didn’t care about. I must have cared about you very much, and now I don’t even know you.”

Her last words pained him, but he tried not to show it. “It’s not that way at all. You do know me, Chloe. Better than anyone. You know who I really am.”

She was silent for long moments, simply staring up at him. Chloe suddenly remembered something he’d said to her the last time she’d seen him. “You love me,” she stated as a simple matter of fact.

“Yes.”

She looked away from him. “I’m sorry, there are just so many questions, I-I don’t know… what to believe, who to trust, where to begin.”

“What else do you want to know? Ask me anything.”

“How…how long, have we, uh…you know.”

“About six months before you were missing, but we’ve worked together and known each other for two years.”

“Okay,” she said, deep in concentration, trying to grasp for any memories of him. Chloe gazed up at him again. “Where did we meet?”

He smiled briefly then, looking oddly out of character as his Green Arrow persona. “In a barn.”

He had a beautiful smile, and once again her brain struggled to make connections, because she knew she’d seen that smile before. In spite of herself, Chloe found her own lips curving upward slightly. “How romantic. I don’t think anyone would make that up.”

“It’s true.”

“Why do you hide your face behind a hood and dark glasses, and use a voice distorter?”

“What I do is dangerous.”

“Obviously. And the targets you choose?”

“I’m protecting people. You called me a terrorist, and maybe to those I target, I am. I believe the end sometimes justifies the means, but I’m not the enemy. I’m one of the good guys, Chloe. Lex is the enemy. Some part of you must know this. Why does he have you watched? What would he do if he discovered the little meeting you’re having with the Green Arrow right now?”

“I have my own opinions about Lex.” She stared up into the face of the Green Arrow, wishing she could see his eyes. She decided to play devil’s advocate. “What if I remember who you are, your real identity? Aren’t you worried, I’ll tell Lex?”

“No. Because once you remember who I am, you’ll remember what I am to you. You’d never tell him.”

“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”

“I’m sure of you.”

Chloe dared to reach up and touch his cheek with her fingertips, as though memorizing him, moving them softly over his lips and chin, stopping briefly over his dimple. It was missing from the police sketch, and yet so distinguishable, she’d wondered why no one ever drew it in…

And then, a jolting shock of realization coursed through her entire body. There was no mistaking that chin, or those lips, that smile. She’d seen him yesterday at the mansion; he must have left the envelope in her bed. She was almost certain it was him, but she didn’t want to reveal her knowledge just yet. Suddenly she felt dizzy, her knees weak. If she was right, it meant that Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow, and dear God it meant that they were lovers. _He loved her._

Chloe could barely breathe. How had that happened? She never recalled meeting Oliver Queen ever, until she’d bumped into him at the Talon, and she wished with all her heart that she could regain her memories of him. Emotions whirled. Sadness, for the loss of what she had, anger for what had happened to cause her to lose it. She lowered her forehead against his chest, the tazer gun falling from her hand.  She gripped his bicep, leaning against him for support.

“Are you all right?” Arrow asked worriedly, sensing the sudden change in her.

Chloe took a few deep breaths before she as able to answer him. “Yeah,” she whispered, trying to collect herself.

“Chloe?”

“I’m fine.” She lifted her eyes to his face once more, and reaching up to continue her gentle explorations of his features, now wanting to be certain that this was the man she thought he was.

Oliver remained still, allowing her to have her soft touchings. She was trying to remember, trying to learn him by heart all over again. Her touch made him ache for her. “Come with me, Chloe,” he murmured, even the distorter couldn’t hide the longing in his voice.

“No. Not yet. It’s too dangerous for both of us now,” she whispered, gently tracing his bottom lip with a forefinger.

“He’ll only continue to subject you to more treatments.”

“He won’t. I’ve convinced him that I no longer need them. He thinks I’ve lost my ability, so now my usefulness to him is limited, and his interest in me is waning.”

“Have you lost it?”

“I don’t think so. Repressed, maybe.”

“Like your memories.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t stay there.”

“There’s something I have to do first,” she said, as her fingers skimmed gently back over his cheek once again.

“What do you have to do?’

“I can’t tell you all of it. Not yet. Let’s just say you aren’t the only person I’m digging up some dirt on, and if I’m right, about… about everything, I’ll give you what I find, and I’ll go with you.” Her hand trailed down the side of his neck, finally coming to rest over his heart.

“And if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not wrong.”

“You’re investigating Lex, right under his nose.”

“Maybe.”

“It’s dangerous, Chloe. He’s dangerous.”

“So are you, but in a different way, I think.”

“I’d never hurt you.”

“I still won’t go with you yet.

“You’re still stubborn. If he finds out, he’ll hurt you.”

“He won’t. Do you want me to trust you?

“Yes.”

“Then trust me, Archer.”

His luscious mouth curved in a small smile.

“What is it?”

“You usually reserve that moniker for me during missions.”

“Well, then, I must be on a mission.”

“If you won’t come with me, then please take this,” He released her long enough to remove a small jump drive he’d hidden against his forearm, just inside the edge of his glove, took her hand, and placed the small device into it. Chloe glanced down at the small green oblong drive in her hand, warm from his skin. “It should answer more of your questions.” He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. “I don’t want you to go back there, and it’s going against everything I am to let you leave.” He whispered against her temple. “I trust you, it’s Lex I don’t trust, and I won’t be there to protect you.”

“I can handle Lex, and take care of myself.”

“I know you can, Chloe… it’s just… it’s not easy for me to let you go again.”

“I have to do this.”

Arrow simply nodded his understanding, unable to speak. He lowered his arms reluctantly, releasing her, and then took a few steps back from her, retrieving his crossbow, aiming and shooting an arrow above his head toward the higher, neighboring rooftop and then tugging on the line, testing it.

“Wait,” she called, stepping up to him quickly. She then stood in front of him, suddenly turning hesitant and flustered.

Oliver looked down at her, his arm raised above him, holding onto the crossbow, ready to make his exit. He waited. She seemed to want to say something, gathering her courage. Instead, she surprised him by suddenly reaching up, wrapping one hand around his neck, pulling him down and stepping up on her toes. She touched her mouth to his, kissing him softly, shyly, experimentally at first. His free arm swept around her waist, pulling her up against him, deepening the kiss, daring to part her lips further, passing the tip of his tongue between and over lush softness. The kissing grew more impassioned, and she matched him, lips and tongues meeting, hot and demanding and powerful. Chloe became lost in him, filled with him.

  
_“I love your kisses. I could kiss you forever.”_

_He chuckled. “And I’d let you.”_

_“How thoughtful of you.”_

_“I have no choice, I’m addicted to yours.”_

  
Chloe pulled away from him slightly, her lips swollen from his kisses. Once again, she looked away, confusion clouding her features as she stepped back, touching her moistened lips with her fingertips. She gazed up at him then, her eyes alight with discovery.

“I’ll meet you again soon,” he said, deeply affected by her kiss, wishing he could simply carry her off with him, but she was bent on accomplishing her mission, and he knew she’d refuse him still. And then he was lifted into the sky, swung away, leaving Chloe to stare up after him, breathless.

Something elusive flashed in her mind once again at the sight of his departure.

  
_“Hold onto me.”_

_“Where are we going?”_

_“It’s a surprise.”_

  
Chloe blinked, futilely grasping as the memory slipped through her brain. A fleeting vision, just on the edge of sight. Tears of frustration appeared, unbidden to her eyes as she tried to call it back to her, tried to remember. Whatever it was, it was a happy memory, it was exciting, and it was about him. She opened her fist, gazing down at the jump drive, wiped her eyes quickly, and headed back toward her car.

  
**End Chapter 8**


	9. 9

 

Déjà Vu

 

  
Chapter 9

**  
**

 

Chloe returned to the mansion, thankful to have pulled off her nighttime excursion without a hitch. But she couldn’t sleep, too excited over her discovery. She sat at her laptop searching for any information she could find on Oliver Queen. She weeded through the typical sensational tabloid articles. Her main objective was to make some connection with the Green Arrow, not really concerning herself with gossip of his latest exploits in bachelorhood. She’d found what she wanted. Headlines, news articles about the Green Arrow in Metropolis coincided; dates and events timed perfectly with the arrival of Oliver Queen. She found news articles about the Green Arrow in Star City, Oliver Queen at various charitable functions and fundraisers, Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne starting a joint venture in a new technologies research and development company. It was all there. She’d even gone so far as to find a decent picture of the man, print it, and draw dark glasses and a hood over his head, amazed at the similarity. There was no denying it. She’d convinced herself. Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow. Now she simply had to find a way to see him again.

Quite pleased with herself that one mystery was solved, she pulled out the flash drive he’d given her, inserting it into the USB port of her laptop. There were numerous files on the drive.

She opened a Word document that said, READ ME FIRST. It was a note. A sad smile appeared as she read.

_Chloe,_

_The information in these files should be helpful in answering some of your questions. You’ll note that among the photographs, there are none of us together. For obvious reasons, I can’t reveal myself to you just yet, but rest assured such photographs do exist. I won’t give up on my efforts to earn your trust, and regain what we had together. My hope is that your memory will return in time, and that you’ll come back to me._

_Always, Your_   
_ Archer_

She opened another file simply titled **_Articles_**.

**LUTHORCORP CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY  
By Chloe Sullivan**

It was the draft of an article she’d written, along with sources, evidence, and citations. Chloe read through it, her mind grasping at memories, but the snippets continued to remain elusive, escaping her every time.

_“My mother sacrificed everything to protect the world from scum like you. And if taking you down means spending some quality time behind bars, sign me up.”_

_“You know, I thought you might say that. That's why there's a Plan "B" firmly in place... a plan that makes prison look like a picnic.”_

Other news articles were also on the file the Green Arrow had given her, and she devoured every one, as visions continued to flash, storming through her mind.

**RIDGE FACILITY DESTROYED IN FREAK EXPLOSION**

_“Green Arrow to Watchtower, I’m in position._

_“Okay, there should be a security access panel near the east door. According to this schematic, you need to very carefully rewire the system…”_

**LUTHORCORP BUYS DAILY PLANET**

Lex’s face swam before her eyes. _“You’re fired.” _

She read through everything on the drive, by turns both fascinated and horrified. The Green Arrow had been telling her the truth, and Lex Luthor had been her enemy, someone she’d attempted to bring to justice, but who had foiled her efforts at every turn.

And then there were photographs; pictures of her together with Clark, and Lana, and Lois. A group of them at Crater Lake, pictures of them at the Kent Farm, and at the Talon apartment.

And then finally, she wept bitterly. For all of it. For the loss of her best friend, her cousin, and a man she couldn’t remember, who must love her more than anyone had ever loved her before.

* * * * * * *

“Mr. Luthor will be out of town for two days.”

“That’s nice,” Chloe sighed wearily, still dressed in pajamas, rubbing her eyes as she dragged her stocking feet toward the coffee pot. She checked the clock. It was after 10:00 am, she’d slept late.

Marianne placed a hand on her arm as she reached up into the cupboard for a mug. “Something came for you this morning,” she said, with a sly smile, her tone conspiratorial. She stepped over to the opposite side of the kitchen, presenting Chloe with a vase full of multicolored tulips. “Special delivery. Go. Sit down, I’ll fix your coffee.”

“They’re beautiful. Who are they from?” Chloe asked, now suddenly more awake as she plopped herself down into the chair at the small café table, where Marianne had set the tulips. Chloe sat speechless, staring at the arrangement.

“I think I can guess. Let me see. Tall, blonde, muscles, gorgeous… you stood him up? Yeah, that one.”

Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. Somehow she’d known they were from him, and he’d known that tulips were her favorite. It only further cemented the notion that Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow, the man who loved her. “I didn’t stand him up. Lex had work for me to do, and I couldn’t meet him.”

“Same thing if you ask me,” she set Chloe’s coffee-filled mug down on the table, then held both hands in front of her, palms upward as though mimicking a set of scales. “Work on one hand, or rich, gorgeous blonde on the other.” She moved her hands up and down alternately, back and forth weighing each option, her face screwed up, deep in mock indecision. “Work. Gorgeous blonde. Yeah, it’s a no brainer.” She threw her hands up. “Blondie wins.”

“I did want to go. Honestly, I think Lex doesn’t like Oliver very much.”

“Yeah, well. He’s not the one Mr. Queen wants to spend time with, now is he? Besides, I think you two would be so cute together.” Marianne’s face took on a faraway dreamy look. “Two blondes, with beautiful blonde babies, I can see it now.”

Chloe nearly spit out the sip of coffee she’d just taken.

Marianne patted her on the back as Chloe choked and sputtered. “There’s a note. Why don’t you read it?”

After she recovered, Chloe removed the note, slipping the little card out from the envelope, unable to hide the smile on her face as she read. She gazed up at the older woman, her smile brilliant, and then scanned the note once more paraphrasing it. “He wants to see me. Asks if I can meet him at Queen Tower, wants me to call him to let him know if I can be there, he’ll send a car if I need it.”

Marianne was already handing her the phone. “I know. I was nosy and read it. Now call him and tell him you’ll meet him.”

“But...”

“No buts. Besides, it just so happens that I need to go to Metropolis to do _a lot _of shopping for the mansion today and I need _so_ much help that I’ll have to drag you along, and it will take _at least _two hours for me to do all the shopping I need to do, and I have so many things to carry. Well, I need an extra pair of hands, you know. And, with Mr. Luthor out of town, those boys in suits won’t say a thing about it, especially if they ever want to set foot in my kitchen again.” Marianne set her hands on her ample hips. “So, are you going to call him or should I?”

“Do you really think I should go to Queen Tower? Maybe I should suggest the Talon. Someplace less… intimate and more public?”

Marianne rolled her eyes heavenward. “Whoever said youth was wasted on the young…” her voice trailed off as she muttered almost to herself. “Sweetheart, when you get to be my age… ah, never mind. Yes, meet him at Queen Tower; he’s a busy man, he works from there too, right? Owns a company? He’s a nice boy Chloe; he’s not going to do anything to ruin his chances with you. Even I can see that.”

Chloe blushed, her smile lighting up her face, suddenly giddy. “Thank you, Marianne.”

“Yeah, just remember, Cinderella, you’ve got two hours. After that you’ll turn into a pumpkin or a mouse or something, so don’t be late. I’ll pick you up. Now call the man, and then go get dressed.”

  
* * * * * *

Oliver glanced at the security monitor. He couldn’t believe she was on her way up to the penthouse. “Keep in mind, she doesn’t remember you.”

“No worries, Ollie, we got it.”

“And don’t overstay your welcome,” he warned.

The elevator doors slid open, and the men in the room acted as though they were finishing up a meeting.

Oliver stood and rounded the desk, greeting her with a huge smile, causing her heart do a back flip in the process, then taking her hand and leading her toward the group. “I’m really glad you’re here,” he said, trying to ease her, as she looked a bit overwhelmed by the presence of the others in the room.

“Were you in a meeting? Did I interrupt?”

“Not at all. Just finished. I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends and associates.” He turned to the group of men. “Chloe Sullivan. This is Arthur Curry, Victor Stone, and Bart Allen.”

Chloe smiled and shook each man’s hand as they were introduced. “Nice to meet you.”

Bart held onto her had and waggled his eyebrows. “The pleasure is all mine, señorita bonita.”

Chloe laughed lightly at his antics.

“Well, these gentlemen were just leaving,” Oliver intoned meaningfully, ushering them all out of the penthouse.

Good-byes were said, and the group had left, leaving the two of them alone.

“I thought we could go for a walk, and head toward a little bistro a few blocks from here. How does that sound?” It had been one of her favorite places.

“Sounds great.” She smiled up at him, and Oliver took a moment to simply bask in the glow of it, grinning back at her.

As they walked, he asked her about herself, and Chloe simply stuck to the basics. She was a Metropolis girl, but had moved to Smallville where she went to high school, then went on to study journalism at Met U, where she’d completed her degree finally, two years after the mess that was Dark Thursday. She’d also spent some time in the basement of the Daily Planet, first manning the phones, writing obits, and then getting a few articles published. He seemed impressed with her, and Chloe was grateful that he hadn’t asked for specifics.

“So tell me, how does an intelligent, independent woman such as yourself wind up working for Lex Luthor?”

“Well, I’m not actually working for him. I had been helping him with some things, and he’s returning the favor I suppose.”

“You don’t sound as though you’re very confident of the situation,” he mused aloud.

“I’m not. But it is what it is.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“It’s… complicated,” she shrugged.

“Knowing Lex, I imagine it would be.”

“You know him well?”

“We were schoolmates at Excelsior Academy.” He turned to her and smiled. “It’s… complicated.”

“Yeah.”

They entered Le Bistro, and shared apperitifs, French cold cuts, pâté and cheese, grapes and other fruit. There was no further discussion of Lex, but Chloe’s mind worked asking him questions about his views on social issues, trying to get a sense of the man who she believed to be both Green Arrow and Oliver Queen. She loved his subtle wit, and the easy banter they shared. He answered as she’d expected. He was obviously a crusader for the working class and disadvantaged, despite the fact that he’d been raised in the lap of luxury. He was also the adventurous type, tending toward the thrill seeking. A modern day Robin Hood, for sure, she thought, as the conversation drifted pleasantly to other things. And then there was that chin, and those lips, and the jaw line that was unmistakable. And underneath it all was the voice in her head that would chime in at odd intervals, causing her heart to beat just a little faster. _He loves me_.

Amusement flickered in the dark eyes that met hers. “You must be one hell of a reporter, Ms. Sullivan,” he teased. “I think I’ve just given the most extensive interview, ever.”

A flash of humor crossed her face, her lips curving in a smile. God, he wanted to kiss her, desperately. “I’m sorry, I do get carried away at times, Mr. Queen,” she replied teasingly as well. “Seriously though, I hope I haven’t over-stepped any boundaries with all of my questions. I simply find you to be a very fascinating individual.”

His laugh was deep and warm. “Not at all. I think your curious nature is very refreshing, actually. I’m enjoying this time with you, Chloe.”

Time. Chloe checked her watch. They’d been talking and laughing for nearly two hours. Where had the time gone? “I’m sorry, Oliver. I wish I could stay longer, but I do have to go. Marianne will be waiting for me at Queen Tower.”

“I understand,” he said. And Chloe could see his expression fall slightly, before he quickly recovered with one of his swoon-inducing smiles. “Let’s head back.” He left a few large bills on the table, and as they walked toward Queen Tower, he reached for her hand, pleasantly surprised when she threaded her fingers through his, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Just before they’d reached their destination, Oliver stopped, gently reining her steps, and pulling her back toward him. “When can I see you again?” he whispered, his eyes darkening with emotion.

Chloe stared up at him, remembering that only last night she’d wished that she could see the eyes behind the dark glasses. They were deep, and dark, and full of longing. It was the look of a man in love. Without thinking, she reached up to touch his cheek, and gently move her fingertips over his jaw line and chin stopping at his dimple, much the way she had done the night before. And he remained still, watching her intently, much the way he had done the night before.

A car horn sounded. “Chloe, come on! Pumpkins and mice, remember?” It was Marianne’s voice coming from the street.

Chloe suddenly slid her fingers into the hair at his nape, pulled him down and rose up, pressing her parted lips to his, kissing him hard, swiftly before the tears that had begun to form could fall. “You will, Archer. Soon, I promise,” she whispered hoarsely against his mouth, kissing him one last time. And then she was gone, hastening to the car that waited, leaving Oliver to stare after her, speechless, shocked at first, and then amazed. She’d done it again, figured him out for the second time on her own, only this time he’d wanted her to.

“I hope those are happy tears,” Marianne said as she drove away, casting a glance in Chloe’s direction.

“Yes,” she sniffled, wiping away the wetness from her cheeks. _And no too_, Chloe thought. Happy in her discovery of the man who loved her, sad in that she still could recall nothing about what they’d had together.

“I thought so,” Marianne sighed wistfully. “Ah yes, beautiful blonde babies. I can see it now.”

* * * * *

Since her meeting with Oliver the day before, a new sense of urgency filled her to accomplish what she’d set out to do. The sooner she’d found something on Lex, the better. It would mean she could go to Oliver, and hopefully regain her memory and get her life back. Chloe spent most of her time poring through the files she’d copied from Lex’s computer. She came across Dr. Benson’s name, and connected him to a more recent, ongoing project that apparently involved seeking out meteor-infected individuals. Somehow, the Met U research wing where she’d gone for treatments was linked, as well as another, newer facility just outside the small, nearby farming town of Cloverdale. Chloe compiled and organized what relevant information she could find into a new file. Oliver’s business card had an email address listed on it. Slipping the card from her wallet, finding the address, she attached her newly created file and sent it to him, hoping it was enough, hoping it would help in some way. She then set about deleting any trace of her activities from her laptop; her searches for Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, Luthorcorp files, her recent documents, all were erased.

Chloe sat back, relieved, satisfied that she’d done what she’d set out to do. Tired now, she thought she’d get ready for bed, when the door to her room was opened suddenly, and Lex entered, calmly and completely livid. Evidently, he’d returned earlier than expected.

Chloe never read the **_Inquisitor_**, at least not often, but now she thought maybe she should start. He slapped a copy of the tabloid on her desk. “How does it feel to be Oliver Queen’s new flavor of the month?” he sneered, his voice low.

Chloe glanced down at the headline in utter shock.

**NEW PLAYMATE FOR PLAYBOY BILLIONAIRE?**  
**_Who is Oliver Queen’s new mystery woman?_**

There was a photograph of them walking hand in hand on their way back to Queen Tower, smiling at each other, and then another, smaller inset picture, a close-up of their kiss, along with an accompanying caption. _The visiting Star City multi-billionaire was seen yesterday, cozying up to a petite, unknown blonde. By all accounts, he appears to be quite smitten with the mysterious young woman. Could this be the beginning of the end of bachelorhood for Mr. Queen? Stay tuned._

She stood up, indignant. “This is garbage and you know it,” she defended, gesturing toward the newspaper on her desk. “I wouldn’t line a bird cage with that excuse for a publication.”

“What were you doing with Oliver Queen?” he demanded between clenched teeth.

“Having lunch! Is that not allowed?”

“That looks like more than lunch to me! I don’t trust him, Chloe.”

“Come on Lex, I know your not the jealous boyfriend, so what is it? Did you think I’d pass along trade secrets? It was just lunch.”

“He’s using you to get to me!”

“Only you would think that way, Lex.”

“Get your things ready, you’re taking a trip.”

“No.”

He turned his head toward the door behind him. “Ms. Sullivan is ready now,” he called, and her two bodyguards entered the room.

“No!” she cried, backing away, her eyes frantically searching a for way around them, a way to escape, then struggling furiously against them as they reached for her, grasping her arms as she fought them bitterly.

Lex did nothing, but look on. “Say goodnight, Chloe.” He said coldly, as a cloth covered her face, and the sweet smell of chloroform invaded her nostrils. Her body went limp in a guard’s arms as blackness engulfed her. “Dr. Benson is waiting for her,” Lex addressed them. “Get her out of here.”

**End Chapter 9**


	10. 10

 

**Déjà vu  
Chapter 10**

“So, how was your date? Did you get lucky?” Bart unfolded the copy of the **_Inquisitor_** he had under his arm. “Wonder what Lex is gonna do when he sees this.” He whistled long and low as he perused the tabloid once more. “Man, that is some major lip lock.”

“I’ve got my publicist on it,” Oliver said absently as he stepped over to his computer, turning it on, then waiting for it to boot up. “I should have been more careful… but…”

“Hey, no worries, you were a little distracted.”

“I am worried. Lex will see that, and after our conversation, I’m not sure what he’ll do, and I don’t want him taking it out on Chloe. I’ve been trying to call her. All I get is voicemail.” Oliver ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it, then dropped down into the chair at his desk for the first time that day.

“Chloe’s smart, she can handle him.” Victor offered.

“Speaking of which, she knows,” Oliver said, typing in his password.

“Huh?”

“She figured it out. She knows I’m the Green Arrow.”

“Does she remember you?” A.C. asked hopefully.

“No.”

Bart continued reading the paper, taking a seat on the couch. “Brains and beauty. How she fell for you, I’ll never know.”

Victor crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the desk. “It’s those smooth moves he’s got, I’m telling you.”

Oliver opened an email entitled simply, _Mission Accomplished_. “Guys. I’ve got something here from Chloe, sent last night.” Oliver opened the attached file, filled with various documents. He opened and scanned a few of them before speaking. “She did it,” he said, his voice filled with obvious pride. He looked up at the others. “She found the mystery facility, near a town called Cloverdale.”

Victor stepped around to view the screen, as Oliver opened other documents in the file. “She’s found doctors names, meteor infected patients, everything.”

A.C. peered over Oliver’s shoulder. “I’m just glad she’s on our side, bro.”

Oliver picked up his cell phone, dialing. There was no answer, nothing but Chloe’s voicemail recording, and his worry increased. He’d hoped she wasn’t upset about appearing in the _**Inquisitor**_, and being called a playmate. He was used to such tabloid nonsense, and usually shrugged it off easily, but she wasn’t, and this was part of the reason they’d kept their relationship under wraps.

Just then the buzzer sounded, and Oliver checked the security monitor. “It’s Lois. Why don’t you guys make yourselves scarce while I talk to her.”

The group headed for other parts of the penthouse, out of sight.

The elevator doors opened, and Lois swept into the main room purposefully, pinning Oliver with an angry look. She didn’t waste time. “I hate to interrupt whatever terribly important work you must be doing, Oliver, but while you’ve been wooing my cousin with your charms, and getting her to play tonsil hockey with you for the gossip pages of the **_Inquisitor_**, I’ve actually been doing some real work.”

“Lois, you know I’m working on getting her back.”

“By getting her image plastered in the tabloids? Come on, Ollie, even when we were together, that never happened. New mystery woman? Playmate? Ugh.”

“I’ll take the blame for the _**Inquisitor**_, but she still doesn’t remember us, Lois. I had to earn her trust first. I want her back just as much as you do.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, indignant. “Yeah? Well, I just came from the Luthor mansion. Spoke with some of the staff. Chloe was taken away last night. The cook seemed particularly worried, said she’d overheard loud voices from Chloe’s room, she and Lex were arguing, something to do with your little not-so-secret, afternoon tryst.”

Oliver looked away from her, rubbing the back of his neck. “Damn.” He lifted panicked, anxious eyes to hers once again. “What else did she say?”

Lois pressed her lips together briefly in an effort to rein in her emotions before she spoke. “She said she heard a scuffle, yelling, and thought she saw them carrying an unconscious Chloe to a waiting car, but it was too dark to see much of anything.” Lois blinked away tears that had begun to form, her voice broke. “Then, when Chloe didn’t come down in the morning, and no one wanted to answer her questions, the cook knew something had happened.” Lois paced a few steps around the desk, maintaining her composure. “So what are we going to do about it?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“The way you’ve been? I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean?”

“We could have been doing so much more, Ollie.”

“She didn’t know me, she believes you’ve abandoned her and that the two of you are estranged, Lois. Do you really think she’d have come back to us willingly? What should we have done? Kidnapped her? Believe me, I wanted to, and tried, but she’d only have gone back to Lex, and it would have turned her against me completely after the lies he filled her head with. She needed to see the truth for herself.”

“And now it might be too late. We should have just taken her away from him.” Lois finally broke, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “I just… I miss her, Ollie,” she whispered, wiping her tear away.

“I know.” Oliver stood in front of her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m getting her back, and if I have to kidnap her now, I will. I’ll take care of it. Please trust me.”

“What can I do to help?”

“You’ve actually helped by giving me this information. I think I know where to find her.”

Lois nodded lightly, sniffling. She wanted to do more, but she’d give him this chance. “If you don’t, I swear, Queen, I’ll kick your green leathered ass all the way back to Star City, and get Chloe myself.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I have her with me,” Oliver said, leading her to the elevator door.

“When?”

“Tonight.”

  
* * * * * * *

Arrow tapped his comlink. “Talk to me Cyborg.”

“Guards all around the perimeter. More heat signatures inside, could be patients, doctors and more guards, be on the lookout. There’s a main room in the center with smaller rooms all around. Looks like patient rooms, or examination rooms. The larger room in the center has some high tech equipment, probably for experiments, some kind of lab.”

“Boy Scout, you’re up. Get us in.”

Clark made the rounds, dispatching the various guards around the facility within minutes. “All’s clear. Let’s go.”

“Impulse, Aquaman, check for any other patients. Get them out.” Arrow ordered.

“I’ve got her heartbeat,” Clark said.

“Where is she?”

“Coming from the main lab room.”

“Let’s go.”

Arrow and Boy Scout made their way to the center room, not finding much resistance along the way, until they reached the door. It was blocked by armed guards. Clark tossed them out of the way, knocking them unconscious in the process. He then took a moment to bend the barrels of their rifles, rendering them useless, and took the door off of its hinges.

Oliver couldn’t believe his eyes upon entering. Chloe was strapped to a table in the center of a large room, barefoot, wearing a set of pajamas, hooked up to various machines, a low hum filling the room. She looked so small lying there. His anger raged at the sight of her, and he needed to cause serious bodily harm to whoever had put her in here. Men in lab coats stood behind a glass panel above them in a viewing area, wearing protective goggles. Arrow aimed his bow. “Shut it down, now!” He called to the startled technicians, who obeyed him immediately, causing the humming noise to stop, while Clark ran to release Chloe from the bonds. “Evacuate this building, it’s being set for detonation,” Arrow warned, and the men in lab coats scurried through the doorway.

Oliver ran toward Clark and Chloe. He’d released her and removed the various wires from her, but she appeared groggy and confused. “Clark,” she smiled up at him weakly, and struggled to sit up with his assistance.

“Chloe, are you okay?” Clark asked worriedly.

“I think so. Thank you, Clark.”

“Do you remember anything?”

Chloe looked down at her lap, then up at Clark again. She shook her head. “Nothing’s come back.”

Oliver continued toward them, slowing in his steps, fearing the worst. She wouldn’t remember him again after what they’d done to her now. But as the Green Arrow came into her line of sight, she did something unexpected. She slid off the table, stood on wobbly legs, and closed the distance between them at his approach. He caught her as she fell against him, throwing her arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly, and leaning against him for support. “Archer,” she whispered.

It was the first time Clark had ever seen them together this way. The Green Arrow’s arms crushed her fiercely to his chest in immense relief, his hooded face unseen as his head lowered, his lips pressed to the top of her head, then moving further to bury his face in her hair. And then Clark understood. Even after she’d lost her memories of him, it was still the Green Arrow she’d run to, cling to. It was the Green Arrow she’d love.

“I’ll go with you now,” Chloe said against his chest. “Mission accomplished. I want my life back.”

“I’ll give you that and more,” he whispered.

Clark, feeling a bit awkwardly voyeuristic cleared his throat. “I’m going to help the others out. I’ll see you outside.”

Oliver lifted his head. “Thanks, Boy Scout. We’ll meet you outside at the rendezvous.”

Clark gave Oliver a small smile, then zoomed off.

“Ready?” he murmured in her ear. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of here, please. I never want to see this place again.”

“You won’t have to. We’re blowing it.”

“Good.”

Victor’s voice sounded in his ear. “Two heat signatures headed your way, Arrow. Otherwise everyone’s evacuated. Setting alarm system.”

“What’s the best way out?” Oliver asked Victor, glancing around the room for exits, still holding Chloe close to him.

Chloe looked up at him. “There’s an underground passageway. It’s the way they brought me in. It leads out onto a dirt road near a field.”

“Anything in the schematics about an underground passage?” Arrow asked.

“Nothing here, but if Chloe says there’s one, take that, because they’re just about on you right now. And this place is set to blow in fifteen minutes. You’ll have to be far enough away by then.”

“Let’s go,” Oliver said, grasping her hand. “Lead the way, Watchtower.”

Chloe pulled him through the door, just as Lex and Dr. Benson entered on the opposite side of the large room.

“Watchtower? Is that my codename?” She asked as she led him through another room, opening a door to a stairwell.

“It is.”

“I like it.”

“I gave it to you. It fits.” He said, as they continued to jog down the steps.

“What’s my job?”

“You kind of run the show from afar, direct us.”

“So basically, I boss people around.”

He laughed as they rounded the last set of stairs. “Yeah, I guess you do. Still fits.”

They came to a final door that was bolted shut. Chloe looked dismayed. “Now what?”

“I’ve got this.” He selected a special arrow, had her back away, and fired. The arrow wedged between the door and frame where the bolt was fixed. In seconds the metal was steaming, melted, and he opened the door for her. “After you, milady.”

Chloe grasped his hand once more, tugging him along. The passageway consisted of concrete walls, dimly lit with lights affixed overhead every ten feet or so. There were varying twists and turns, but Chloe seemed confident this was the way out.

Oliver stopped, pulling Chloe up short. “Someone’s coming.” He tried hailing Victor with no results. “Comlink must be dead down here.”

“You’re going to be dead down here.” Oliver turned around at the sound of Lex’s voice. He’d come from the opposite direction, and now stood in front of Chloe, his pistol drawn.

“And we’ll all be dead if we don’t get out of here. This place is set to blow,” came Arrow’s retort as he shepherded Chloe behind him, keeping her away from Lex.

“Lex, just give it up. Let us go.” Chloe demanded.

Suddenly, Dr. Benson appeared standing opposite. “Come with me, Chloe.” We’ll get you away from this man.”

Chloe shrunk away from him, moving closer to Oliver. “No.”

“Come on Chloe, tell him the truth, about how you were going to help me take down this terrorist. Did you know that, Green Arrow? She was helping me all along. Looks like you’ve done a good job Chloe, hand delivering the Green Arrow to me. Well done.” Lex smirked. “She’s betrayed you, Arrow. Give it up.”

“No! That’s not true!” she cried, her voice echoing thought the passageway.

“She betrayed you. How do you think you ended up here? Exactly where I want you. No way out. She brought you here, didn’t she? And you believed her.” Lex continued to jeer.

All that had happened, Chloe’s kidnapping, being taken from him, her torture at Lex’s hands, his manipulation of her, and now this further twisting of truth had Arrow’s blood boiling, churning up all he’d been through in the last two months into a burning rage.

There wasn’t much room to maneuver in the passageway, but Oliver was beyond caring, and without warning, he kicked the gun from Lex’s hand, and then threw himself at his opponent, tackling him. Arrow pummeled his face repeatedly, causing blood to flow from Lex’s nose and mouth. Gloved hands found their way to Lex’s throat, his grip tightening then slamming Lex’s head down onto the concrete floor. “She didn’t betray me you twisted, fuck,” Oliver growled between his teeth.

Lex choked and gasped for breath, attempting to push Arrow from him, and roll from beneath him. But Oliver’s grip didn’t waver, and Lex thought he’d lose consciousness at any moment. His struggles ceased as he weakened.

Chloe screamed, and Arrow’s attention was diverted momentarily, to see her being dragged away by Dr. Benson. She fought him, and nearly escaped his grasp, twisting around to punch him, startling him. She ran toward Oliver, but was jerked back as the doctor grasped a handful of her hair. She kicked at him with her bare feet, connecting her heel with his shin. The doctor howled, but had not lost his grip on her hair. He then slammed her forehead into the concrete wall.

Oliver saw the blood running from her head, starting a slow drip down over her eye. Her body went limp instantly. “Chloe!”

The doctor picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like a rag doll. Oliver leapt up from Lex’s prone form, reaching for his crossbow behind him, aiming at the doctor. “Let her go.”

The doctor stopped in his tracks, turning to face the Green Arrow. He smiled. “You won’t shoot.”

Oliver let an arrow fly, hitting the doctor in the leg. The man screamed. “Set her down!” Arrow ordered, and Dr. Benson fell to his knees, dropping Chloe carelessly to the ground. “Now get the hell out of here.”

Using the wall for support, Dr. Benson pulled himself up, pulled the arrow from his thigh, and hobbled back through the passageway without a backward glance.

Muted explosions from above. The walls shook. Dust and dirt falling, drifting down on them. Oliver moved toward Chloe, nearly reaching her. Suddenly he grunted as the sound of the gunfire and the jolt of pain in his back, were almost simultaneous echoes.

Panting, Lex wiped the blood from his nose and mouth with the back of his hand, lowering his pistol, as he watched Arrow fall forward.

More explosions sounded above, the passageway walls moved, causing larger chunks of debris to begin falling. Lex turned and ran, staggering toward safety, leaving the Green Arrow and Chloe lying on the floor together as explosions continued to rock the building.

  
**End Chapter 10**


	11. 11

 

**Déjà vu  
Chapter 11**

  
Chloe coughed, dust choking her airways. She felt covered in dirt. It was dark, something felt heavy on her legs. She wiggled and maneuvered, wiping what she thought was sweat from her brow, then wincing in slight pain, as her fingers found the lump and gash on her forehead that mysteriously hadn't hurt at all until now. She didn’t have to see to know it was blood. She heard a low moan just in front of her, but couldn’t see much of anything except for the dark silhouetted outlines of odd shapes.

She wiggled some more, twisting, moving her legs, slipping them out from under what felt like part of the concrete wall. Her bare feet would be scraped up, as well as her legs covered only in thin pajama bottoms, but she didn’t care, and continued to move and squirm her way out from under the heavy weight.

Another low groan of pain. Chloe crawled toward the sound, her hands blindly searching the ground in front of her until she came upon a fleshy lump. Her hand skimmed over it. A bare, muscled arm, up over the leather strip that covered his bicep, up further to a shoulder, and under some dust, the soft pliant leather. “Arrow?” The echo of her voice sounded small to her own ears.

His breathing was shallow, air gurgling from his throat. She moved closer, her hand slipping into a small puddle of something warm and sticky. How long had they been there? He’d bleed to death if no one found them soon. “Arrow!” She felt around frantically, running her hands over his body. She discovered he was face down, but thankfully, no large pieces of concrete seemed to have landed on him. She brushed away the smaller chunks of debris, wondering if she should try to roll him over. It was then that she’d discovered the bullet hole in the middle of his back. She gasped. “No.” Chloe tried to pull his hood down, and managed to move his head sideways, slipping the leather hood off. She removed his dark glasses, and voice distorter, then stroked his cheek. “No!” she cried.

“Chloe,” he whispered into the darkness, his voice hoarse, labored. He struggled to move.

“No, don’t move, you’ll only bleed more.”

Oliver ignored her, and continued to push himself up on his elbows, panting and grunting with the effort, until Chloe helped him to roll onto his back, collapsing, a groan of pain escaping him as he did so.

“Have to… tell you…”

“Shhh. Don’t talk,” she whispered, her voice thick on the verge of tears. She knelt over him, running her fingers through his hair, stroking his face, wishing she could see him clearly, see the face of Oliver Queen dressed as his Green Arrow persona. But touching him, knowing it was him was enough for her. “Don’t move anymore. Someone will come for us” she soothed.

“I never really…,” he began weakly, then coughed in the dust filled, enclosed space. “…told you… how much…”

“Shhh… please don’t.” She began to weep, unzipping his vest, running her hands over his muscled chest and torso, searching and finding the exit wound, her hands slick with his blood.

“How much I… love you… love you, Chloe. Please… remember that.”

She couldn’t remember, but she knew that he did love her, and once again the loss of her memories tore at her heart. Chloe moved to lie beside him, cupping his cheek, bringing her face next to his and pressing her forehead against his temple. “We can tell each other every day when we get out of here,” she whispered in his ear. “We’ll get out of here, and you’ll be fine, and I’ll get my memory back, and I’ll remember everything we’ve done and said and were to each other.” She was babbling through her tears, and she knew it, but she needed to keep talking to him. “I’ll remember, even if we have to do all the things we’ve ever done all over again.” Somehow talking to him felt as though it were directly correlated with his survival. “We’ll go to all the places we’ve been, see everything again.” The more she talked, the greater his chance of living through this, as though his very life depended on the amount of talking she did. She sniffled, her warm breath shuddering against his cheek, as she continued to cry. “And we’ll have lunch at _Le Bistro_ again, and let the paparazzi take our pictures, and print them in the **_Inquisitor_**… only next time, we’ll really give them something to talk about with... outrageous public displays of affection, and I’ll be the playmate to your playboy.”

Something that sounded like a laugh escaped him, but quickly turned into a cough. Oliver listened to her soft voice in his ear, his lids opening and closing at intervals, as he fought to hold onto the sound, and to her words in an effort to remain conscious.

“And you must take me along with you at least once, so that I can hold onto you, while we swing from rooftops. And sex. There must be lots of hot, steamy rooftop sex with the Green Arrow.”

“You… remember that… part?”

“We’ve done that?”

“Many times,” he murmured weakly, and Chloe noted that his breathing was even shallower than before, his skin becoming colder to the touch. Chloe feared he was going into shock. If help didn’t come soon, she might lose him.

And then she felt his body begin to shiver. “Shhh…. No talking, just listen.” Her voice broke, as new tears surged and began to fall. She snuggled closer, pressing her body against him, and sliding her leg up over and across his hips, in an effort to offer him her body heat. Chloe continued to stroke his face, and thread her fingers into the soft, spiky strands of his hair. “There are lots more rooftops in Metropolis, and we’ll have to christen all the ones in Star City too.”

Her breath hitched, her throat constricting tightly as she cried. “And we’ll go to the Talon… of course you’ll… have to bring the napkins,” she sniffled. “You’ll have to buy me tulips at least once a week though, and… keep me supplied with my favorite coffee….” Her voice trailed off on a heart-wrenching sob.

He turned his head toward her, his nose brushing against hers. “Don’t cry...Chloe.” A soft grunt of pain escaped him, and he gasped for breath once more. “Kiss me,” he whispered urgently.

She was weeping uncontrollably now, searching for his lips in the darkness, trembling fingertips dancing lightly over his face. She pressed warm moist lips to his, whimpering, crying against his mouth, tasting the wet saltiness that covered both of their lips now.

Her eyes closed over as she kissed him, causing more tears to escape beneath her lids. Suddenly she felt dizzy; an odd tingling sensation welling up within her body, growing increasingly stronger, overflowing until she thought she’d burst. Bright, colorful light suddenly exploded, filling the dark, confined space, and Chloe felt as though she were tumbling, spiraling out of control and then drifting away.

Lightening flashed in her mind, images appearing and disappearing at random. More images fast-forwarding through her brain, faces, events, places. Oliver, Clark, Lois, Lana, their faces smiling, laughing, swam before her. She was prom queen, graduation, the second meteor shower, the Daily Planet, Queen Tower, the Kent farm, the Talon. Scenes, quick snippets, flashed before her, some unrelated some not. Lex’s face was shadowed, telling her she was fired. She was meeting Oliver for the first time in Clark’s barn, she was on a rooftop being attacked by the Black Canary, and he was there for her. She was Watchtower, waiting anxiously for the Green Arrow to return, running to his arms, then somehow kissing him passionately, wanting him more than anything or anyone she’d ever wanted in her life. And they were on the floor, and he was filling her, and giving her everything he had. He was reaching for her hand, her name spoken softly on his lips, telling her with his eyes of his desire for her. She was in Paris, and in Rome with him, she was being carried over his shoulder, laughing as he tossed her onto his bed, and then he was making love to her sweetly, tenderly before he had to leave her.

It all came back, a deluge of memories flooding her mind, rapid, racing, flashing, overwhelming her.

At once Oliver knew her power had returned. Her essence surrounded him, entered him, filled him. It was like being the sand, and feeling the rush of ocean waves permeate your grains, and then that moment of suspension, before the waves then slowly retreat, back to the sea. Tissues, torn and broken were soothed and healed, pain was numbed and then did not exist, and he was whole once more.

The light faded, and the passageway was once again engulfed in darkness. Oliver blinked several times. He felt renewed, strengthened. Reaching down, he moved his hand exploringly over his chest. The blood was there, but the wound was gone. “Chloe?”

She didn’t answer. Oliver touched her, fingers searching her face blindly in the darkness, roving gently over her cheek to the pulse point at her throat. It was there, but weak. “Chloe.” He gathered her in his arms, moving to sit upright, his back leaning against the wall. He cradled her, absently stroking her hair. She’d regained her ability, and he wondered if… no, hoped her memories had returned as well.

Oliver pulled her close, pressing his lips to her cheek, then burying his face in the curve of her neck for long moments, grateful to be alive, thankful that she’d recovered some part of herself. Then raising his head, he glanced around, but there was nothing he could see clearly. Chloe had removed his night vision glasses, and it would be difficult, if not impossible to locate them. He’d have to wait until she awoke, then see if they could make their way out. It was too dark to try to carry her through the rubble of the passageway. His only other hope was that the rest of the team was searching for them.

* * * * * * * *

The team watched from a safe distance as the ruins of the Cloverdale building burned to embers, smoke and steam rising into the night sky. Emergency vehicles, and fire trucks were leaving the scene. It had been over an hour and still no sign of Oliver or Chloe.

“Where the hell are they?”

“I don’t know, I’ve been trying, but still no communication with Arrow,” Victor responded through the comlink.

“They should have been here by now.” Clark glanced around worriedly.

They waited till all was clear before heading toward what was left of the facility. Clark used his freeze breath to cool off the ruins completely, then scanned the ground with x-ray vision as the group walked with him through the crumbled remnants.

“Anything?” A.C. asked, stepping carefully over a protruding metal girder.

“Hold on,” Clark answered, squinting at the ground. He moved further away, toward the far edge of the building foundation. “There!” Clark could see the x-ray outlines of what appeared to be Oliver, sitting up, holding Chloe in his arms. Both of them were alive. Clark removed his jacket, following the path of the underground passage some distance away, so that he could create an opening, hopefully without causing it to collapse on top of them. “They’re down pretty deep. Chloe’s not moving.” He finally settled on a spot. “You guys might want to move away,” he warned, and then began to spin, using the speed and strength of his body like a drill, boring a huge hole into the ground.

Oliver felt distant rumblings and creaking, worried that some aftershocks and settling from the blasts would cause more of the passageway to collapse. Dust and dirt began falling, and he moved to shield Chloe with his body. Then he heard voices.

“Chloe!”

Clark cleared a path, picking up pieces of concrete, moving them aside, and breaking through others. “Arrow!”

“Here!” Oliver called out, his voice echoing in answer.

Clark continued moving toward them. “Oliver. Is she all right?”

Oliver could see the dark shape of Clark’s form nearby. “She’s out. Healed me. Her ability’s come back.” He clutched her body closely, repositioning her to gain some leverage, and then moved to stand with her in his arms.

“Come on. The path is cleared this way, I’ll take her.”

“It’s okay, I’ll carry her,” Oliver answered. “Just lead the way out, I’m right behind you.”

Clark spoke so that Oliver could follow his voice. “We were all worried, wondering why you hadn’t shown up at the rendezvous point.”

“I’m glad you showed up when you did, I honestly wasn’t certain how much time we had, or if there’d even be enough oxygen down there.”

They reached the huge hole Clark had made. “Hold onto her, we’re about to jump out of here.” Clark put an arm around Oliver and leapt upward. They landed on their feet, on the soft grass-covered ground.

“Holy shit!” Bart exclaimed, upon seeing them. All three were covered in dirt, but Chloe and Oliver were horribly bloodied as well, and her body was limp in Oliver’s arms. “What the hell happened? Is Chloe all right?”

“Lex found us. He shot me just as the explosions started. Chloe’s powers have come back. She healed me. I think she’ll be okay soon.” Oliver paused, gazing at his teammates, his eyes hard. “I don’t know if Lex made it out in time.”

**End Chapter 11**


	12. 12

**   
**

**Déjà vu**

**   


  
Chapter 12

  
**   
Oliver sat in the long bench seat in the hold of the communications van, Chloe still cradled in his lap. He’d been holding her, since they’d been buried underground awaiting rescue. Both she and Oliver looked as though they’d just been through a war zone, covered in dirt and blood. Bart and A.C. sat opposite; all were quietly anticipating Chloe’s awakening, each one lost in thought.

What had happened to Lex? Had he made it out in time without injury? What would Lex do now if he survived? Had Chloe regained her memory? These and other questions whirled around in each team members’ mind, as Victor drove into the parking garage of Queen Tower, Clark riding shotgun.

The van pulled to a halt, and suddenly the silence was broken by Chloe’s gasp and movement that nearly caused Oliver to drop her. She blinked rapidly, then reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling herself up in his lap, clinging to him desperately. She buried her face against his throat, breathing heavily.

Oliver spoke softly in her ear, as his gloved hands stroked and soothed her. “It’s okay, Chloe. We’re home.”

She nodded lightly, remaining this way until her breathing returned to normal, she then lifted her head, turning slowly, her cheek pressed up against Oliver’s jaw as she gazed across the hold of the van to see Bart and A.C. The two of them staring at her dirt and tear streaked face with anxious, expectant looks.

Suddenly she realized that she was probably revealing a bit too much about her relationship with Oliver the way she was sitting on his lap, clinging to him for dear life. A small, hesitant, sheepish grin formed on her lips as she looked at the two across from her. “Uh… Bart, A.C... This is… uh.. sorry…awkward.” She gazed up at the man holding her. “I’m sorry, Ollie,” she whispered. “I-I don’t know what came over me. I’m fine now. You can let me go… uh…put me down,” she said nervously, as her hand slipped down from his neck over his chest, attempting to push him away.

Her memory had returned, he knew it. She called him ‘Ollie’; she remembered that the others were unaware of their relationship. Oliver grinned down at her. He felt such relief and elation, that he didn’t care what Bart and A.C. would think. He cupped her cheek and lifting her face to his, he pressed parted lips over hers, kissing her deeply, right in front of them. He tasted the salt from the tears she’d cried, dirt from the underground passage, and blood. He couldn’t help but think it was one of the most amazing, fulfilling kisses he’d ever had. She whimpered, wide-eyed, and Oliver felt her body tense as she tried to get some distance, but he prevented it, pulling her closer. “It’s okay. They know,” he murmured against her lips, then kissed her once more briefly, pulling away only to rest his forehead against hers.

“They do?”

Oliver smiled. “Yes.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “My memory… it’s back.” Her voice, full of wonder, broke with emotion. “Oh Ollie, I remember!” She began laughing, crying all at once, pressing frantic kisses everywhere over his dirt smudged face. “I remember everything, all of it!”

“You remember us, Chloelicious?” Bart was hopeful.

“Oh, yes!” Oliver released her when she scooted out of his arms, watching her cross the short distance to the two men that were now up on their feet. She threw her arms around each of them in turn, as though she hadn’t seen them in ages, and this was a joyous reunion.

“How did you find out about us?”

“We finally got him to tell us,” Bart sighed as though pained, hugging her. “I still think you should have picked me instead of Jolly Green over there, but hey, I get it.” Bart winked at Oliver over her shoulder.

Chloe laughed and squeezed him once more before turning to A.C.

“I gotta say, it was really weird having to pretend I didn’t know you,” A.C. said during their bear hug.

Chloe turned in A.C.’s grasp. “Victor? Clark? Where are they?” she asked Oliver excitedly.

Immediately after she spoke, and before he could answer, the rear van doors opened, and Chloe practically threw herself down into Victor’s arms hugging him. “Victor!”

Victor hugged back, setting her down on her feet, then looked at the others over her head, laughing. “I take it she remembers?”

Oliver smiled broadly. “She remembers.”

Chloe then turned her attention to Clark, who stood nearby, wrapping her arms around him too. “Oh Clark!” She wept freely now. This was her Clark, her best friend and it felt as though she hadn’t seen him in a lifetime. She kissed his cheek softly. “I’ve missed you so much,” she cried.

“I’m just glad you’re back, Chloe,” Clark returned her hug, holding onto her for long moments. “Oliver’s been a mess since this all started,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ve all been trying to get you back to us.” Chloe smiled up at him sadly. Poor Oliver. She hadn’t realized just how much he had come to love her. He’d made every effort as both the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen to regain her trust, even at the risk of exposing his identity, and she hoped that Lex would not connect Oliver’s interest in her along with the Green Arrow’s.

“Thanks, Clark. I know you were there for him.” She hugged him one final time, then left his arms to stand beside Oliver, who welcomed her into his embrace, pulling her up close against him.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and gazed up at him lovingly, their eyes meeting. Chloe lifted her hand to caress his cheek. “We could both use a shower, huh?”

Oliver pressed his lips to her forehead. “That can definitely be arranged,” he whispered.

“What about Lex? What happened to him?” She glanced at the others.

“We don’t know, but we’ll find out soon enough.” Oliver answered. “Let’s get cleaned up and worry about it in the morning.”

The guys complimented each other on a job well done, and then made various excuses to leave and said their goodbyes, all thankful that Chloe had returned to them, glad to have their Watchtower back.

They entered the penthouse. Oliver began to put away his gear watching her move about, touching various things, a vase, a picture frame, his computer. She went to each room, as if to reacquaint herself with everything in it. Her smile was bright and beautiful when she returned to his side. “I feel like George Bailey, greeting everything I took for granted before.”

“As long as you don’t greet me with ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Potter!’ I’m good.”

She laughed, and her smile was infectious. “I actually have a different greeting in mind for you,” she murmured suggestively as she unzipped his vest, her hands slipping underneath, palms sliding over his skin.

Oliver shivered at her touch, his pulse quickening. God, he missed her. Wanted her desperately. But her smile faded, and her eyes grew serious, taking on a pained look, as her hands slipped up over his collarbones and moved over his shoulders beneath the leather, pushing his vest away until he’d shrugged out of it completely and it fell to the floor. “What’s wrong?” he whispered, wrapping an arm around her waist, and lifting a hand to cup her cheek.

“Two months. For two months I couldn’t remember anything. How did I survive for that long without you? We lost two months that we can never get back, I mean, I know it could have been worse, but I can’t help but feel that we were both violated, something taken from us, with me being stripped of my memories for however long it was.”

Oliver brought her head to rest against his bare chest, cradling her cheek, stroking her hair.

“I don’t know how it happened,” she continued, pressing her cheek against his skin. “I remember being strapped to a table, and then pain, not just physical pain, every kind of hurt imaginable. And then I blacked out. And you… Oliver. You never stopped looking for me or, trying to get me back even when I didn’t know you, or remember who you were.” Her palm caressed the light dusting of hair over his pectoral next to her cheek.

“You would have done the same for me,” he whispered.

“Yes, I would have.” Chloe gave him a one armed squeeze, continuing to caress his chest with her other hand. “I have to admit, the bumping into me at the Talon, and especially sneaking the packet into my bed was rather ingenious.”

“It’s over now. And now you’re here, and it’s everything I’ve wanted and needed for the past two months. We’ll make up for lost time, Chloe, and we don’t have to hide anymore.”

“I love you, Oliver Queen,” she whispered, snuggling against him. “And you had me falling for you all over again. Some part of me must have known, or maybe it was just your Queen charm.”

Without looking up, Chloe could hear the cocky smile in his voice. “My charm didn’t fail me the first time, I had no doubt I could win you again.” This earned him a mild sock in the gut, making him chuckle. He’d missed simply laughing with her, and his heart became light yet full at the same time, happy to have her by his side again. “I love you too, Chloe Sullivan,” he said, pulling her closer against his body.

“There’s only one more thing we need.” Chloe lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest, peering up at him.

“We’re finally here together. What more could we be in need of?”

“A good scrubbing. I’m headed for the shower, care to join me?”

A smile spread on his handsome face. “Lead the way, Watchtower.”

When they reached the bathroom, they undressed each other, eager hands seeking to rid one another of the coverings that impeded them, taking every opportunity to touch and caress as they did so. Thin torn pajamas, and green leather pants landed in a heap on the bathroom floor. They stood together naked, the caress of bodies brushing against one another. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted her now, no matter that they were both dirt smeared. He took her face in his hands, and lowering his head, he closed the distance between them, his lips capturing hers, pressing against hers, then gently covering her mouth, slowly, devouring the softness of her lips.

He raised his head, his lips a mere inch away. “I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered, then recaptured her mouth with his, this time more impassioned, telling her with his kisses, and the pressure of his body against hers, exactly what he wanted.

Instinctively, her body arched toward him, her hands sliding and skimming over the muscles of his back, her soft curves and skin, and breasts, pressed against his lean, body. “Mmmm. I can tell,” she smiled, her voice a silky murmur against his lips, “I’ve missed you too, Ollie.”

“I want you now, Chloe. Need you now,” he breathed desperately, as he kissed around her mouth and jaw line. Oliver picked her up, and set her on the bathroom counter top, his hands grasping her knees, separating them. His fingers grazed her thighs, sending tingling sensations through her, as he moved between her legs, his erection almost immediately seeking entrance, the tip of his manhood probing and rubbing against her wet slit. “It feels like it’s been forever.” His lips found hers once again, his passion rising. “Can’t wait anymore,” he panted lightly, his lips brushing against hers. “Have to have you now…. now.”

Chloe’s intention was to shower first and rid themselves of the dust, dirt, and patches of dried blood before making love, but she couldn’t deny him or herself. It had been two months since she’d felt him filling her, hot and hard inside her, and the way he was kissing her and touching her, and whispering his need in her ear, drove her, the passion in his voice reverberating deep into the soft core of her body. His need soon became hers. His hands on her body caused shivers of delight to follow his every touch. How she’d missed his hands, and his mouth, and his skin against hers. Chloe surrendered to him completely. She leaned back on the counter slightly, his lips following hers. Chloe dug her fingers into his hair pulling him toward her, drowning in his kisses as she tipped her hips to welcome his body.

Increasingly urgent sighs and moans mingled and filled the bathroom. Oliver flexed his hips, gathering her against his body, hands grasping and sliding beneath her bottom. His fingers dug into her soft flesh, as he pushed himself further inside her, then partially withdrawing, entering again, easing his way into her slick warmth further with each rocking motion of his hips, inch by inch until she enveloped and surrounded him completely. Oliver shuddered.

“Oh God,” her voice quavered, trailing off as he began a slow, delicious rhythm, plunging deeper, harder each time, filling her, overwhelming her, until there was nothing else that existed in the world but him. His movements quickened, his arduous pace increasing, mounting with every thrust. “Oliver…” his name a long whispering moan.

A torturous, guttural sound left his lips in answer to his name, and he stilled himself momentarily, deep inside her, resting his forehead against hers. They breathed each other’s erratic breaths. He licked his lips, wetting them. “Shit,” he panted. He had to stop, or he’d come too quickly. He’d been too long without her.

Chloe tipped her chin to capture his mouth with hers. “Don’t stop, Ollie. I don’t care,” she whispered between kisses. “We have all night, and you feel so damn good,” she breathed more kisses against his lips, and over his cheek. “Come for me,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t stop. I want to feel you, love how you feel inside me…”

She began to wiggle her hips against his, making him groan. His mouth covered hers hungrily, and he moved against her, meeting her over and over. Filling her again and again. Together they found the frantic tempo that bound their bodies together. “Fuck…”

His raw sensuousness carried her to greater heights. He’d been worried about her pleasure, wanting her to be satisfied, but this time his concern was needless. She’d missed him just as much, and was just as close as he was to her own orgasm, burning sweetness low in her belly, building with every thrust. Her desire for him consumed her, his passion swirled around her, and Chloe knew in that moment she’d never love anyone the way she loved him. “Harder.”

His brows knit, then relaxed as his eyes closed. “Chloe…” he called her, a moan of ecstasy slipping through his lips, groaning sounds escaping him as involuntary tremors shook him, an arc of electricity passing through his body to hers. Too long without her. Too long, and he never wanted to be away from her again. He didn’t care how it had happened between them anymore, or when. None of it mattered. He couldn’t live like that again. Without her. Oliver came for her, with her, shuddering in his release. His head fell forward against her shoulder, his breath fanning her heated skin, his hands stroking her thighs, sliding up over her hips, around her back, pulling her closer. They relaxed against one another for a time, until he lifted his head, and his lips sought hers once more. When he pulled away, they were smiling into each other’s eyes; no words were needed between them. They were together again, and it was all that mattered.

Grinning playfully, he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and setting her in the shower. They helped each other wash, laughing, and for a while, there were no cares, no concerns, there were no narrow escapes from death, no 33.1 facilities, no Lex Luthors, no evil doctors, no dangerous missions, no Green Arrow and Watchtower. There was only Chloe and Oliver enjoying each other, giving themselves to each other. Simply, wholly and completely.

  
**End Chapter 12**   



	13. 13

**   
**

**Déjà Vu**

**   


  
Chapter 13

  
**   
_Oh shit._ Odd words to think of when floating up out of peaceful slumber, wrapped in the arms of the still-sleeping, exhausted man you loved. She fit perfectly, she mused. His big body curved protectively, commandingly around her. They’d been busy, almost all night. After their shower, they’d barely dried off, wet skin, skidding and sliding over one another. He’d carried her to the bed, easing her down gently this time. The clean scent of soap on his skin was intoxicating, as she buried her face against his throat, breathing deeply of him. Their joining was slow and thoughtful, reveling in each other’s bodies. Never had she felt so loved and needed. They fell asleep afterward, wrapped in each other’s comfort. Then during the night, she felt his hands, warm and seeking, over her most intimate places, coaxing her, his mouth against her neck, whispering sweet seduction in her ear. Touching her, igniting a fire in her once more until she was fully awake, begging, pleading for him to ease the ache he’d created. And then, about an hour ago, just before the dawn, they made love once more. _Oh shit._

Chloe shifted slightly, lifting her head from his shoulder to peer up at him. He was sleeping peacefully, and Chloe didn’t think he’d wake up any time soon. Truthfully she was exhausted as well, and sore, and sticky, and… she’d have to tell him.

Hopefully it was nothing to worry about. Yet. They’d simply got caught up in the flow of passion, missing each other, needing each other desperately. Chloe hadn’t thought at all about birth control. She’d been on the pill before her abduction, but since she’d had no recollection of being with Oliver, and certainly, oral contraception was not on Lex’s list of drugs to give her, she hadn’t been taking it for the past two months.

Chloe laid her head once more on his shoulder, biting her lip, her heart beat quickening. He must have sensed some change in her, because she was suddenly aware of his hands, sliding and caressing over her skin. His hand skimmed down her back, grasping her hip, pulling her closer against his body. She felt his lips and nose in her hair, nuzzling her as he made deep, sleepy noises of contentment. She couldn’t help but smile to herself. If anyone on earth ever knew the Green Arrow was a cuddler, it would be the end of his reputation. Trying to reconcile the tough as nails, bad ass hero in green leather with the man who was now using her as his own personal stuffed toy, almost made her laugh out loud. But it was true. Alone together in private, he loved to cuddle, and Chloe loved being the recipient of his affection. She ran a warm, smooth hand over the muscles of his chest.

“Mmmm.”

“Oliver,” she ventured softly, sliding her leg up and over his.

“Mmmm.”

“Ollie. I just thought of something…”

“Hmm.”

“Well, I just realized that I haven’t been on the pill in two months.”

“Hmm?”

“Which means that we’ll have to use condoms until I can get an appointment and have my prescription refilled.”

His voice was gravelly and thick with sleep. “Okay.” There was a short pause as though all she’d said had finally registered in his sleep-fogged brain. “Oh shit.”

“Yeah.”

He snuggled up closer, evidently of no mind to get out of bed or to think too much just yet. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “We’ll use condoms for now.” He lifted her hand to his lips, breathing a soft, lingering kiss to her palm, then placed her hand over his chest, holding it there. Chloe soon heard his soft, even breath once more, watched and felt the slow rise and fall of his chest and knew he’d fallen asleep. She wouldn’t worry about it now. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply and relaxed, joining him. She’d worry about it later.

  
* * * * * *

Dr. Benson had disappeared. No bodies were found in the rubble of the Cloverdale facility, and Chloe wondered what had happened to him. She was sitting at her desk at the ISIS Foundation, getting a new file ready to hand over to the authorities with pertinent information about Cloverdale, and its ties to the research wing of Met U. The least she could hope for is a full-blown investigation of Met U board members. Lex might be a bit trickier. He was usually smart about covering his tracks and keeping his hands clean, but at minimum, he’d have investigators sniffing around him, and if nothing else, Chloe could glean some satisfaction from that.

Lex had been injured slightly, but his recovery was quick. He’d made it out of the underground passage with seconds to spare, suffering some minor injuries from flying debris.

“I see you’re back at work.”

Chloe looked up, startled to hear a familiar voice. She shivered, then recovered quickly, saving and closing up the file she was working on, and taking a defensive stance. She removed the flash drive from the computer, slipping it stealthily into her pocket. “Yeah well, no one can fire me from this job. What are you doing here, Lex?”

He waved a hand away, casting a derisive glance around the room, as he stepped closer, the tails of his black overcoat, floating behind him. “No reason. Wanted to see how my ten million was spent. Wondering what Lana deemed so important to use my money on.”

“Well, as you can see it didn’t go to waste.”

Lex stopped up short a few feet away. His eyes thinned, scrutinizing her. “How have you been, Chloe?”

“Oh Lex, watch out. One would think you really cared.” Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you here? Do you want to know if my memory’s returned? Do you want to know if I remember staying with you at the mansion?”

Lex pursed his lips ever so briefly, but didn’t respond otherwise, his gaze remained steely, but Chloe saw there was truth in her words. He was curious, and wanted to know.

“The answer to both of those questions is, yes. So now that you know, you’re welcome to leave any time.”

“What happened to the Green Arrow?”

Chloe raised a brow. As if Lex actually had the gall to ask such a question. Evidently, he was unaware that she knew he’d shot Arrow. “I don’t know. When I was rescued, he was nowhere to be found.”

“I don’t believe that. He’d have gotten you out before saving himself.”

“You know him so well? To you he’s a terrorist.”

“Perhaps there is honor among thieves. Besides, he appeared to have some… fascination with you.”

“There seems to be some of that going around, wouldn’t you say?” she intoned meaningfully and watched with satisfaction, as Lex nearly grimaced at her words. “Perhaps he never read the thief code of conduct manual. He was gone. They never found him. Maybe he’s with Dr. Benson as we speak. Do you know what happened to our doctor friend?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”

He was lying, and Chloe knew it. Then again, he probably knew she was lying as well. As it was, they were at a standstill, and neither of them would budge.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll turn up one way or another, don’t you think?”

Lex shrugged noncommittally, seemingly disinterested, then appeared as though there were something else on his mind.

“Anything else, Lex? I have things to do.”

“Actually there is. My sources tell me Oliver Queen is still in town and….”

“If you want to know anything about Mr. Queen and myself,” she interrupted, “then I suggest you read the **_Inquisitor_**.” Chloe reached for her purse. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Lex, I need to close up shop.”

Lex’s jaw tightened imperceptibly. He was in no mood to spar with her at the moment, but there would be another time. “Very well. Have a good evening, Chloe.” A thin chill hung on his words. This wasn’t over yet, and they both knew it.

“I will. You too Lex.” Her response was more answer to his challenge, than pleasantry.

Chloe watched him turn away, and exit the building until he entered the limo that awaited him. Only after the black vehicle drove away, did she remember to breathe.

After she’d locked up ISIS, she headed toward the nearest pharmacy. Her doctor’s appointment was not until tomorrow, and for the past two weeks, she and Oliver had been using alternative birth control methods which included, a combination of condoms and spermicide. Not something they were used to, and inconvenient, but necessary for now. After finding what she needed from the shelf, she headed back toward the Talon apartment.

Her reunion with Lois had been emotional, tear-filled and joyous, and she felt she had some explaining to do as far as her relationship with Oliver was concerned. Lois was understanding, and it probably helped that she’d already been filled in on all the details by Oliver and had already given Oliver a good piece of her mind during Chloe’s bout with amnesia. That didn’t however; save Chloe from the overly protective, big sisterly lecture that followed the huge hug Lois had given her. All the same though, Chloe was glad she had Lois’s blessing, and all was well between the two of them.

Chloe hid her drug store purchase in her purse, but upon unlocking the apartment door, soon found it was unnecessary. Lois wasn’t home, and right now Chloe was thankful for that. She couldn’t face Lois just yet, not while doing this. For some odd reason, she needed to be alone right now and upon finding the apartment empty, she sighed with relief.

She shed her jacket, tossing it onto the futon, and pulled out the pink rectangular box from her purse. Chloe realized her hands were trembling as she read the box directions. It wasn’t necessary to wait until morning, and that’s why she bought this particular test. Now she simply needed to get it over with, but she stood there, reading and re-reading directions she’d already read.

_Accurate results five days before your missed period with an easy-to-read "Yes/No" answer._

  
Chloe breathed deeply. She could do this. All she had to do was pee and wait three minutes. So she stood rooted to the spot, unable to move toward the bathroom for a good five more minutes. _Come on, Sullivan. Just do it.  
_  
She kicked off her shoes, then padded toward the bathroom as she tore open the box, pulling out the insert, nice graphic depictions showing how to pee on a stick. Who had an aim that perfect?

Three minutes. Well, it claimed to be ninety-nine percent accurate. Three minutes. Chloe followed the directions she now knew by heart, and waited. Three minutes. Three of the longest minutes of her life.

She blew her bangs out of her eyes as she sat on the toilet, holding the stick in her still trembling hand. Two more minutes. Staring at it wouldn’t make the answer show up any faster. Chloe set the stick down carefully on the countertop, cleaned up, washed her hands, brushed her teeth, combed her hair. One more minute.

And then…

Chloe couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know what to think or how to feel. Parts of her were happy, confused, scared to death, uncertain, and each of those parts were vying for dominance within her. She picked up the stick, focusing on the word, blinking, looking away, then back at it again. It hadn’t changed.

**+YES**

“Oh God.” Chloe stared at it for long moments, her heart pounding wildly. She closed the lid of the toilet and sank down on top of it, suddenly weak and light headed. “Oh God.”

She’d talk to the doctor in the morning. Maybe this test result was a false positive. She’d have a test done at the office. That would be more accurate, wouldn’t it? Chloe bit her lip, still uncertain as to how she should feel, too many emotions whirling around simultaneously. She loved Oliver, more than anything or anyone. He loved her, and she was confident in that knowledge, but a baby? Now? What would he say or do? Chloe looked down again at the stick. Nope. Still the same answer.

**+YES**

Chloe grabbed up the box, and slipped the used pregnancy test stick inside. Then the whole thing went stuffed hastily into a brown paper bag. She’d have to throw this away so Lois wouldn’t find it accidentally.

She headed for the kitchen, digging around for a plastic bag. Just as she was about to wrap the paper bag into the plastic one, Chloe jumped at the sound of her cell phone ringing. She checked the caller ID, her eyes widening, her pulse pounding.

“Hey,” she answered a bit too enthusiastically.

“Hey yourself, babe.” Oh gosh, why would he call her that? He’d never called her that before. Mere coincidence, nothing more. “What are you up to?”

Chloe could hear the teasing smile in his voice, and picturing that handsome grin in her mind, only made her more nervous for some reason. She began to fidget, and pace the small apartment. “Just got back from ISIS. Um… I’m here at the Talon. What about you?”

“Working on some boring business stuff. I’m in-between conference calls right now. Come to Metropolis tonight? I can have a car there in two hours, and by then I’ll be finished with work. We’ll have dinner.”

“Uh… okay.” Oh God. Should she tell him tonight? Or should she wait until after seeing the doctor? “Yeah… Sure. That sounds great.”

“Is everything all right there, Sidekick?”

“Oh! Yes. Great. Fine. Great. Uh… Okay. I’ll see you later then.” She decided not to tell him about Lex’s visit just then, he’d only worry. She’d had to convince him she’d be fine going to ISIS in the first place. She’d tell him about that later too. Her stomach clenched into knots over her little lack of honesty at the moment, but simply couldn’t bring herself to tell him about Lex or the possible pregnancy over the phone. Who was she kidding? There was no ‘possible’ about it. _Oh my God, I’m pregnant_. The reality suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks, the shock causing her to grow suddenly silent.

“Chloe?”

“Hmm?”

“Did something happen?”

He knew her too well. “Everything’s fine, Ollie.”

“Okay.” He didn’t sound convinced. “My conference call’s about to start. We’ll talk more later.”

That was his way of saying he’d get it out of her later. Chloe smiled, and she laughed lightly. “Okay, yes, we’ll talk more later, I promise.”

“Good.” He relaxed a bit, and his voice softened. “I have to go. Love you.”

“Love you too, Ollie.”

Before the limo arrived for her, Chloe had sent all the information on the file she’d created earlier to a few of her connections in law enforcement, as well as to the Met U board of directors. It didn’t take long, and time seemed to drag after that. Chloe didn’t know what to do with herself, and grew more anxious by the minute. She read the paper, she paced the apartment, she cleaned up what little clutter there was lying around. She sat on the futon, flipping though TV channels, turning it off and then and tossing the remote onto the nearby chair.

The driver should be coming up for her, and so when she heard the knock at the door, she wasn’t expecting to find Oliver Queen standing there, filling the doorframe. He must have left Metropolis soon after they’d spoken on the phone. Just the sight of him brought all of her nervous anxiety to the fore, and she leapt onto him, nearly bowling him over, throwing her arms about his neck. “Ollie!”

Oliver enfolded her, lifting her off her feet a few inches, stepping into the room, carrying her, as she clung to his neck, her feet swaying with every measured step he took. He chuckled, his smile warming her heart. “Hey. This is some welcome. Want to tell me what’s going on?” he murmured close to her ear.

“Kiss me first.”

Oliver set her down, and gripping a fist full of her golden hair, he groaned beneath his breath, slanting his mouth over hers. It was a deep, coming home kind of kiss, where lips and tongues reacquainted themselves with familiar territory. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, nipped it, then closed his mouth hard over hers once more. Chloe’s hands plunged into his hair, pulling him closer. Finally, growling soft and low in his throat, Oliver reluctantly dragged his mouth a whisper away from hers.

“Ollie,” she breathed, moving her hand from his hair to touch his face, tracing the bones with soft fingertips.

He smoothed the hair back from her cheek. “What is it?” he whispered, his lips nearly brushing against hers. His other hand settled at the small of her back, intimately pulling her against him, until their lower bodies swayed lightly in unison.

Chloe paused long enough to swallow tightly, and inhale a fortifying breath, releasing her words softly. “I’m pregnant.”

Oliver blinked several times. His mouth opened as if to speak, then closed. He then seemed to recover from the initial shock of her words. Two words said quietly, and simply. “You’re…”

“Pregnant.”

Oliver gazed down at her, beautiful green eyes glistening with uncertainty. She was worried about what he’d think, how he’d react. But there was also a challenge there, daring him to say what he thought, how he felt, daring him to take this ride with her. He touched his forehead to hers, and his arms gripped tightly around her, squeezing her. “Somehow I think I knew,” he whispered. “And even when I thought you might be…” Why was he so bad at this? He couldn’t seem to form a sentence. “I mean, I wasn’t worried. I knew we’d be okay, no matter what happened,” he whispered. “I love you, Chloe. So much. And now I’m….” Oliver’s handsome face broke into a lopsided grin. Then his expression changed to one of astonshiment, and his eyes widened. “Wow,” he breathed. “I’m going to be a dad...” his voice trailed off, full of wonderment and realization.

His own words seemed to sink into his very being. Chloe wondered vaguely if he might faint, and held him up as his body relaxed against hers, and his head lowered to rest between her neck and shoulder, leaning on her. She felt him trembling with emotion, his breath against her neck as he tried to regain his composure. “I love you, Oliver,” she whispered in his ear, soothing him with her words and her hands as she stroked his nape and slid fingers into his hair, caressing his scalp. “And you’re going to be a great father.”

She was trembling now too, and thinking to get them both off of their feet, Chloe led him to the bed, where they fell upon it, and lay silently in each other’s arms fully clothed, kissing, caressing, cuddling for long silent moments.

After a time, he rose up on one elbow, resting his head in his hand, peering down at the length of her body, stretched on her back. He ran a slow hand over her blouse, down between her breasts, over her ribs, her stomach, then palmed her flat belly thoughtfully, reverently, fingers splayed, rubbing soft, slow circles over her womb. Finally, Oliver spoke quietly as though the moment was too sacred for speech. “How big do you think he is now?”

“Probably smaller than a peanut, and what if it’s a she?”

Oliver looked up at her teasing smile, and the light in her eyes, and knew he saw his future there. He couldn’t keep from grinning. He placed a feather light kiss to her forehead, then lids closing over halfway, he brushed his lips against hers, the remnant of his smile still lingering. “Then I’m in big trouble.”

**End Chapter 13**   



	14. 14

**   
**

** ** ** **

**   


Déjà Vu

  


  
Chapter 14

  
**   


They were careful. If keeping their relationship hidden for safety reasons was important before, it was an absolute imperative now. After Lex’s visit to ISIS, Chloe knew that it wasn’t over. Oliver had been furious upon finding out Lex had gone there to question her, and Chloe had to convince him not to do anything rash, as it would only rouse Lex’s suspicions further.

Oliver knew she was right. She carried his child. This more than anything convinced him that neither Oliver Queen nor the Green Arrow should take any action against Lex for now. So they were careful. Played the charade. Only the League knew about the public deception, though they were not yet aware of Chloe’s condition. They’d tell the team soon about the baby but now it was more important to throw Lex off the trail. And so, Chloe Sullivan became Oliver Queen’s flavor of the month and nothing more. He’d returned to Star City, that weekend, attending a charity function sporting a statuesque brunette on his arm. Oliver hated it. Chloe thought it was funny.

“How are you feeling?”

“Going through caffeine withdrawal. Be nice to me.”

“I’ll buy you a huge double shot latte in about eight months,” he chuckled. “Any news yet on the fundraiser?”

“I’m holding you to that, and yes. Found some pictures on a few websites, I’m sure they’re already in today’s gossip pages. You could have smiled for the camera and at least pretended you were having a good time,” Chloe teased him over the phone as she sat in front of her laptop, perusing the gossip sites. She laughed lightly. “In one photo here, you look as though someone’s just told you that you’re about to have root canal work done.”

“I’d rather have root canal work done,” he groaned, sitting back in his chair, behind his desk in the Queen Industries building.

“You must have been a bad date.”

“I was a gentleman, as I always am…”

“Oh wait. Here’s a smiling one,” Chloe blurted as she clicked through the photos on the website. “But you’re talking to Bruce Wayne, and your date is… not even in this picture.”

“Tina was probably off rubbing elbows with anyone who could further her career. I’m sure she enjoyed herself. I think she had her eye on some French designer. What does it say? Anything about you?”

“Hmm…” Chloe grew silent as she clicked through more photos, skimming over the captions.

Oliver loosened his tie, and undid the top buttons of his crisp, white dress shirt. “I miss you,” he murmured, filling the silence as she searched.

“I miss you too, Ollie,” she whispered. He’d only been gone four days, but any time apart now seemed harder to bear for both of them. “Okay, here’s something,” Chloe cleared her throat and began to describe the photo. “This is a picture of you, appearing exceptionally handsome in a tuxedo by the way, with Tina, you’re looking one way and she’s looking another way, but she has her arm slipped through yours. That is some amazing dress she’s wearing.”

“What are you wearing?”

Chloe could almost see the goofy grin on his face, and laughed. “A white tank top, and black sweat pants. Nothing very sexy I’m afraid, it’s late here, and well… I’m just lounging.”

“Sounds very sexy to me.”

Chloe blushed, even though he wasn’t in the same room with her. “I’m glad you think so. Okay, want to hear this or not?”

“I’d rather be slipping my hands inside your sweat pants right now, but go ahead.”

A short giggle escaped her. “Easy, tiger.”

He made a sensuous growling noise.

“Oh my,” she sighed. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?” he asked mischievously.

“Because it’s turning me on, and you’re not here,” she all but whined.

“Is it? That’s hot, and now I’m turned on, so tell me what the site says before I don’t care and we end up having phone sex instead.”

“Heh. Anyway, it says, _‘Looks as though Oliver Queen has traded a petite blonde in Metropolis, for a tall brunette in Star City this month, as he’s seen here with model Tina Micelli Saturday night, attending a fundraiser for the construction of a new Star City children’s hospital.’_

“That’s it?”

“That seems to be the only vague mention of me as far as I can tell…” her voice trailed off and she grew silent once more.

“Chloe… I don’t like doing this, hiding, pretending for the cameras, when the only place I’d rather be right now is anywhere with you.”

“I know,” she answered quietly. “How do you stand it, Ollie? I mean, the tabloid stuff, the gossip, and the labels they place on you. I don’t know if I could deal with that as well as you do. I’d rather investigate and write the story, not **_be_** the story.”

“I’ve learned to ignore them, I don’t read them if I can help it. It’s not as bad as it used to be when my parent’s died. I became this poor, rich orphaned, golden boy of Star City. Cameras followed me everywhere. Everyone spoiled me, much to my detriment, actually. But I’m not the celebrity I used to be.” Oliver paused, remembering his Excelsior days. “I’m not that person anymore.” He was quiet for a moment, and swiveled lightly in his chair. “You know, it might get worse for awhile. Especially when little peanut starts growing, and we can’t hide your belly. The rumor mongers will have a field day with that, saying you’re a gold digger, who’s entrapped me, or that I was forced into marrying you, or being the reckless playboy that I am, I couldn’t keep it in my pants and now it’s caught up to me… but, as long as we know the truth, that’s all that matters. It’s all part of the façade, Chloe, the dual identity, keeping Oliver Queen and the Green Arrow separate. We’re simply fooling them. We can’t let it get to us, and I’ll do my best to keep us out of the tabloids when the time comes. It will die down after they see we’re still together. It’s simply going to take time.”

She understood and knew all of it. It was all about deception, public image, the whole playboy charade, all of it. But it didn’t make the photograph she was staring at right now, and the words she’d read any easier to swallow. She clicked out of the website, not wanting to see anymore. Suddenly it wasn’t as funny as it had started out to be. “Wait, wait… back up. Marry you?”

“Yes, marry me.”

“I’d never force you to do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t, which is why I need to start convincing you now.”

“No. No, Oliver. I won’t do that. You wouldn’t be wanting to get married now if it weren’t for…”

“Yes, I would.” He knew where she was going, and interrupted before she could finish her sentence. “I love you, Chloe. I’ve thought about a life with you, long before the baby.”

Oliver couldn’t see her expression, but she looked as thunderstruck as she felt. “You have?”

“Every single day that you were missing,” he admitted quietly.

Her heart ached with love for him, welling up within her, constricting her throat, reaching her eyes, until a single tear pooled and fell, slipping down her cheek. A pang of longing shot through her, and she wished she could cross the physical distance that separated them. “I-I don’t know what to say, Ollie,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Don’t say anything yet, until I can get back to Metropolis. This kind of convincing needs to be done in person, so that I can render you defenseless, and helpless against my charms.”

“Think your Queen charm is up to the challenge?” She smiled, wiping one tear away as another one fell.

“I’m up to the challenge of loving you any day, Sidekick.”

* * * * * *

  
He sat waiting for his appointment in the back of the limousine, unable to keep the smirk from curving his lips. Lex set the **_Inquisitor_** copy down on the seat next to him. If Chloe thought she was something special to Oliver Queen, she’d been wrong. He’d warned her. Lex glanced over once again at the photograph of Queen with some tall brunette at a fundraiser. “I told you so, Chloe,” he murmured in satisfaction, enjoying the possibility that she’d be hurt over the photograph and accompanying caption that mentioned her being traded in by the blonde billionaire for an Italian model.

He fidgeted. Lex didn’t like having to visit Suicide Slums. But this was the meeting place agreed upon. Two black limousines were soon parked face to face in a dark alley, pavement still damp from an earlier rain, wanting only a thick fog to complete the look of an old-time mobster flick. The occupants exited, each of them with their own bodyguards, well armed and ready to act at a moment’s notice. Lex didn’t like dealing with the mob. It was beneath him, but sometimes a job was just tailor-made for them to handle, such as the disposal of Dr. Benson.

The two men approached each other; both well dressed in dark designer suits. One of them lit a cigarette before he spoke, the flame from his gold lighter permitting Lex a glimpse of the man’s face. “What can I do for you now, Mr. Luthor?” The man squinted against the curl of smoke that rose up before him, making him look even more sinister in the dimness. “The last job was done to your satisfaction, no?” He blew smoke in Lex’s direction.

Lex stared unflinchingly into the man’s eyes. “Yes. One problem has been solved. And I appreciate the fine work you’ve done in helping me tie up lose ends. But now I believe we can help each other.”

The man gave Lex a skeptical look. “Somehow I doubt that, Mr. Luthor.”

Lex smirked. “About eight months ago or more, the Green Arrow and his crew destroyed a warehouse belonging to you, and notified the authorities who confiscated a large quantity of your… merchandise. Am I right?”

The man didn’t answer right away, simply sizing Lex up for a moment, taking another drag on his cigarette. “Cost us millions, and some of my most trusted men are still in prison. But he’s an elusive one. Chased him down, shot at him, but he got away on his motorcycle. We can’t seem to find him.”

Lex nodded once. “Then we have a common enemy. And I think I know how to get to him.”

“And how would that be?”

“There’s a woman,” Lex began.

The man laughed humorlessly. “Isn’t there always?”

“She’s his weakness.”

“Of course. Poor sap.” The man dropped his cigarette butt, stepping on it. “You want us to… take care of her?”

“No. I want the Green Arrow. He’s disappeared, and I want to use her to lure him out. I don’t want anything to happen to her, not one hair on her head harmed, do you understand? There’s a lot of money in this for you, and you won’t see a penny if she’s hurt. That’s the deal.” Lex gestured to one of his bodyguards to hand him a manila envelope. He gave it to the man.

“Kid gloves on the woman. Got it. And what happens when we catch the Green Arrow? I’d like a piece of him myself after what he’s done to my business.”

“I merely want him unmasked. I want to see his true identity. Once I’ve seen him, you can… take care of him, if you’d like. Consider it an added bonus to your payment.”

“What if he’s already dead? Maybe that’s why he’s disappeared.” The man said, opening the envelope to find photographs of Chloe along with information about where she lived and worked. There was also a wad of cash in large bills, rubber-banded together.

“I don’t believe he’s dead. She’s keeping something from me. If he’s alive, he’ll come out of hiding for her.”

“What should we do with the woman?”

“Leave her to me.”

The man glanced at the various photographs again. “She’s a looker. Little thing. Kind of sweet on her yourself?”

“Let’s just say, she needs to stop something she’s put in motion. She owes me.”

“This about that Met U business?”

“Just get the Green Arrow. We’ll settle up then.”

* * * * * * * *

Tulips. Every week there was a delivery of tulips at the ISIS foundation. It wasn’t hard to pay off the deliveryman, make an early delivery before any patrons arrived, hold the blonde woman at gunpoint, tie her hands behind her back and lead her to the rendezvous. A vague, mysterious note was left in the tulip arrangement with clues left for the Green Arrow. They told her she wouldn’t be harmed, all they wanted was the Green Arrow and once he arrived she could go home. She cooperated for the most part, but she refused to divulge any information about the Green Arrow, claiming she didn’t know him. It was too bad they had orders, because if they could rough her up a bit, maybe she’d squeal, maybe not. She seemed like a tough little blonde. So they waited for Mr. Luthor’s orders and kept her tied up and gagged for over two hours.

Chloe’s eyes thinned as Lex entered the dimly lit basement room where she was kept in an abandoned building in Suicide Slums.

Lex told one of the men who guarded her to remove her gag.

“Untie me,” she ordered.

“You’re in no position to be giving orders Chloe.”

“If you untie me, I’ll tell you everything you want to know about the Green Arrow.”

“You don’t get it. I want him here. I know he’ll come for you.”

She shook her head. “He won’t. But if you untie me, I’ll tell you what happened to him.”

“Is he dead?”

“Untie me first.”

Lex appeared dubious, but allowed it. It was his mistake. As soon as the guard untied her, Chloe reached for the back of the metal folding chair, swung it at the armed guard’s head, knocking him down and out, and quickly retrieved his gun before Lex could reach it. She backed away toward one of the exits, the gun now trained on Lex.

“Hands up where I can see them, now behind your head, interlace your fingers.” Lex followed her orders. She was breathing heavily, and suddenly felt a tremendous wave of nausea overcome her. Oh dear Lord, now was not the time for morning sickness to strike. “Move against the wall.” Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, as another wave of nausea assailed her. She swallowed against the bile that rose in her throat, fighting the urge to bend over and let her breakfast go. _Please baby Queen, don’t make mommy barf now._ “Come near me, reach for anything, breathe the wrong way, and I swear to God, Lex, I’ll shoot you where you stand.”

  
**End Chapter 14**

  



	15. 15

 

**   
**

**Déjà Vu**

**   


  
Chapter 15

  
**

It was a quiet morning, the world waking up, the coastline gilded by the sun riding low in the east, as Oliver, freshly showered and dressed casually in faded Levis and black t-shirt, rummaged through a dresser drawer in his Star City bedroom packing a bag to return to Metropolis. Chloe was probably up already, maybe even out the door and starting her day at ISIS. A faint smile curved the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t wait to see her, five days away was too long, and he wondered how she was handling the lack of caffeine. His mind wandered, trying to imagine her petite frame at full term. She’d be tiny and all belly. He still couldn’t believe it. The life growing inside her was his son or daughter. It amazed and frightened him all at once, but in a good way.

He silently marveled over how everything had changed. How he’d changed. Looking back now, it was hard to believe that when it had all started, he’d tried to fool himself into thinking his time with Chloe would be nothing more than an enjoyable, completely physical, unemotional affair. A pregnancy could have resulted about nine months ago. The first time they’d ravished each other in wild, raging, mindless need on the floor of his penthouse living room, they thoughtlessly hadn’t used protection. But nine months ago, his reaction to impending fatherhood might have been different. He didn’t know he loved her then, not the way he knew now with every fiber of his being. In fact, his love for her had become one of the few things he was sure of in his life, and it was everything, she was everything, and it blew him away. He was happier than he’d been in a long time, and he couldn’t imagine a life without her. It amazed him just how much it all had changed. How he’d changed.

Oliver stopped his rummaging for a moment, glancing up at the small photograph of his parents, encased in its simple frame on top of the dresser. Their faces beaming, gazing back at him, frozen in time, seemed to smile in approval now. They’d love Chloe too. Something about their expressions spoke to him, telling him they knew he’d finally made the right choice. This is what they’d want for him. To find the right woman, settle down, have children, be happy with his life. He picked up the frame, fingertips grazing the in-laid wood and glass lovingly, silently promising them as well as himself, that he’d convince her to marry him, that he’d be a great husband and father, just as his own father had been. He’d convince her, of that he had no doubt. She loved him, and he’d prove to her that his desire to spend the rest of his life with her was not just something brought about by the new life she carried.

Setting the picture frame back in its place, he turned back, tossed a pair of socks into the bag, and watched the furniture shift as he felt the forceful gust of wind fill the room causing the entire bag to fly off the moving bed, lampshades to tilt, curtains to lift, and picture frames to fly crashing off the walls. Oliver clung to the edge of the drawer to keep from losing his balance. “Jesus, Bart!”

Bart didn’t wait for greetings, grasping Oliver by the shoulders and spinning him around, his face a mask of anxiety and terror. “Ollie! You’vegottacomebacktoMetropolisnow!”

Oliver recalled the last time Bart had been overly excited about something. He had spoken so rapidly, that no one could understand the noise, and to everyone’s astonishment, he’d created a sonic boom with his voice. Oliver’s brows knit with concern, wondering what Bart could be so agitated over. “Whoa, no speed talking. Hang on there, Impulse, I’m getting ready to board the jet in about twenty minutes.”

Bart took a few lung-filling breaths, trying to slow down. “No time for that. Jet’s too slow. You’ve gotta come now.”

“What the hell is going on?”

“They’ve got Chloe.”

Oliver’s expression turned panicked. “Who are ‘they’? What are you talking about?”

“I was keeping an eye on her just like you wanted. Thought I’d check in with her this morning. ISIS was open, but she was gone. I found this.”

Oliver took the proffered handwritten note, reading it aloud. _“‘Green Arrows In Exchange For Tulips. Ms. Sullivan Awaits Your Special Delivery. Wait at ISIS. Further Instructions to Follow. Exchange Must Be Made, Or Tulips Wilt and Die.’ _Son of a bitch,” he muttered under his breath. Thoughts of Chloe and his unborn child filled his head, his rage mounting, panic closing like a fist around his heart, his whole body tightening as though a statue of fear and anger. “I’ll kill him.” His eyes, dark with fury, turned to Bart. “Lex.”

Bart shook his head. “I don’t think so. Lex wouldn’t leave stupid notes like that would he? So not his style. Anyway, there’s no time. Look, I’m not as strong as Clark or anything but I bet I can get us both back to Metropolis in minutes. You game?”

Oliver looked hesitant for a moment, “Uh… I won’t combust or anything will I?”

Bart smiled. “Nah. I have this aura, like a shield that can like, prevent air friction while I’m running. No worries, boss.”

Oliver nodded, heading toward the penthouse door. He didn’t want to waste any more time. “Let’s go.”

Once they were outside, Bart simply turned to Oliver, hoisting the bigger man over his shoulder. “Damn you’re heavy, dude.”

“Shut up and go.”

“Close your eyes, cover your head, we’ll be there before you know it.”

Bart was true to his word, and in minutes they were at the Queen residence in Metropolis. It took a few moments for Oliver to regain his equilibrium, and get his bearings, but once inside the penthouse, he began to gear up, and Bart gathered the others, before refueling by raiding Oliver’s refrigerator. In under half an hour, Victor had set up the comm. system, and satellite feeds to include the ISIS building. Any attempt at communication would be captured and traced.

“What happens when you get to ISIS?” A.C. asked.

“I wait until they contact me.” Oliver answered, securing a green armband over his bicep. “I’m sure they’re watching the place. They’ll know when I arrive.”

“I’ll wait with you,” Clark broke into the conversation.

“Can’t let you do that Clark. No telling what they’ll do to Chloe if they think I’m not alone. For now, you’re on standby. It’s me they want,” he said, stepping into his Green Arrow room, searching for, and selecting specific arrows.

Clark followed determinedly behind him. “I’m going, Oliver. You can’t stop me.”

“Yes, I can. Come on Clark, you can be on the scene in seconds if need be. If it’s the Green Arrow they want, then it’s the Green Arrow they’ll get.”

“What if they capture you? You can’t risk exposing your identity.”

Oliver spun around, the agitation rising in his voice. “And I can’t risk their lives,” he blurted angrily.

“Their lives?”

“Chloe’s life.” Oliver corrected softly, turning aside for a moment, resting his hands on a shoulder-height shelf in his Arrow room, leaning on it for support. He gazed down at the floor, releasing a pent up breath. He then lifted his head to glance back at the expectant group gathered behind Clark, hesitant, continuing to fumble about for words. “And… and our…our…” Oliver sighed heavily, and then simply allowed the words to pass his lips. “Chloe’s pregnant.”

The four men in front of him stood in stunned silence, mouths agape. Any other time, Oliver might have laughed at the sight of them.

Instead, he faced them, straightened to his full height, his gaze upon them now confident and resolute. “So, even if it means the Green Arrow is exposed, I’ll trade myself for them,” he said calmly, yet his words left no argument. “It’s a small thing, really,” he continued, slipping his hand into a long black leather glove, then reaching for its mate, sliding his other hand into it. “I don’t care. Doesn’t matter what happens to me. As long as they’re safe.” He interlaced his fingers, working the leather to secure a good fit, then took his dark glasses from the shelf, placing them over his eyes. He raised his hood, and stepped around Clark, moving toward the elevator.

“Pregnant?”

“Wow, bro. Congratulations?”

Oliver offered them a small, bittersweet smile. This wasn’t the way he’d wanted to tell them, and the circumstances made any celebration out of place right now. “Yeah. Wasn’t expected, but… it’s good. We’re good… happy about it.”

“Whoa, wait,” Bart interjected. “Congratulations, pops, but I don’t think Chloe would agree with anything that exchanged your life for hers and baby Queen’s.”

“Ollie…”

“Just remember the plan, we go in like always,” he said stepping into the elevator. “If all goes well, no one will have to be exchanged, and no one will be hurt.” He turned his voice distorter on. “Let’s do this thing.”

Oliver arrived at ISIS, and within five minutes, the phone rang. He’d been right, someone was watching the building.

“Talk,” was all the Green Arrow said upon picking up the receiver.

“Right to the point. You don’t waste time. I like that.”

“So get to it.”

“Ms. Sullivan claims not to know you or your whereabouts. Apparently she’s been lying to us.”

“If I were kidnapped, I’d claim the same. Now, let’s deal.”

“True,” the masculine voice on the other end responded. “Do you know of an area we like to call Suicide Slums?”

“I do.”

“There’s an abandoned building on the corner of 4th and Lincoln streets. Come alone, you’re being watched, and if we think any of your buddies are nearby, Ms. Sullivan buys it.”

“How do I know she’s in your possession? I want proof.”

“Check her computer.”

Oliver moved the mouse to rouse the sleeping machine, and there on the screen was a live video feed. It was a bird’s eye view of Chloe, tied to a metal chair and gagged. His heart wrenched painfully at the sight of her. She appeared unharmed otherwise, as she sat as calmly as one could in her predicament. “You bastards…”

“As you can see, she’s fine, for now. But I warn you, Green Arrow, any tricks, and she’s dead. ”

Victor’s voice sounded in Oliver’s earpiece. “Got it. He’s not calling from that location, Bart was just there at the address he gave. It’s an abandoned building, but that’s not the one. Chloe’s not there. They might be setting you up.”

The man’s voice continued. “You’ve given us quite a bit of trouble. Cost us a lot of money. We want to see the face behind the hood, and then we’ll probably have a little fun with you before we put you out of your misery. It’s simple. The Green Arrow in exchange for Ms. Sullivan, or she dies.”

Oliver spoke to the voice on the other end of the phone, deciding to call their bluff. The deep, metallic distortion didn’t disguise the hard edge in his voice, and lent a fearless, cruel menace to his threat. “Listen you piece of shit. Here’s my deal. I have to witness her release, see that she’s okay; otherwise there is no deal. You harm her, and you’d better make sure that I’m dead, because if not, I’ll hunt down every last one of you, and my face will be the last thing you see.”

Victor warned in his ear. “Take it easy, man. Don’t rile them up too much.”

The voice on the phone seemed to waver, the man sounding less sure of himself. “We only want you, but believe me, we’ll take care of Ms. Sullivan if we have to.”

“We’ve got them,” Victor crowed excitedly in his ear. “He’s calling from a location about two blocks north of the one he gave you.” Victor pulled up satellite feeds of the area, and gave Oliver the address. “Heat signatures indicate lots of bodies for an abandoned site.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Oliver said to the man. “Have her waiting where I can see her, or no deal.” He then hung up the phone, and exited ISIS heading toward his motorcycle. He spoke into his comlink. “Get over to the other location on 7th, make sure no one sees you.”

Oliver rode to the first location, circling the block. Checking his side view mirrors, a vehicle carrying two men appeared in the reflection, keeping their distance, and stayed with him. Sure enough, he was being followed. Pulling up into the alley behind the abandoned building, he parked his bike, strode toward the rear entrance, but instead of opening the door, he shot an arrow above him, and was lifted until he’d landed safely onto the roof. He watched as the men below pulled up to where he’d left his motorcycle. Oliver selected an arrow, took careful aim and let it fly. The arrow whizzed through the open driver’s side window, pierced the leather upholstery between the two men, and emitted a green glowing gas upon impact. In seconds the men were rendered unconscious.

“Better get over here fast, something’s going on, I can’t tell exactly what from this distance,” Bart’s voice sounded in Oliver’s ear, somewhat frustrated at having to wait instead of zooming in on the action. “Just lemme zip in there, Arrow! They won’t see me.”

“Not yet. I don’t want to take the chance they’ll know I’m not alone. I’m on my way.”

Victor’s voice confirmed. “Lots of movement. Heat signatures indicating some kind of chase, get your green ass over there now.”

His heart racing, Arrow secured a line, and soon was swinging across the sky, closer to the building on 7th street. Closer to Chloe.

* * * * *

For the first time in her life, she wouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger. Maternal instinct? Survival instinct? It didn’t matter. Chloe didn’t care. She meant it when she said she’d shoot Lex on the spot if he made any move toward her. Chloe continued to fight the nausea that climbed up her throat as she backed into the doorway leading to the stairs. She’d have to find a building exit and run for it, before others were notified of her attempt at escape. Her gaze never left Lex. Just a few more steps and she’d reach the door.

He wasn’t certain she had it in her, but she wasn’t bluffing, that much he knew. Lex noticed her unsteady hand on the gun, she looked as though all the blood had suddenly drained from her face, her breathing quick and uneven. She blinked, swallowing convulsively. Something was wrong, she didn’t look well, and he knew he’d have to act quickly.

Suddenly she turned and bolted from the room, running up the steps, tripping more than once in her haste, as dizziness assaulted in waves.

Lex took off after her, pulling his cell phone from his pocket, pressing a button. “She’s getting away!” he shouted into the phone. “Find her now!”

The echoing sounds of shouting and running feet followed her through the stairwell. Chloe grunted, shoving a battered, wooden door open with her shoulder, believing this to be the main floor. There had to be a street entrance here. What she found was a large, darkened room that appeared to once have been a storefront. A dirty picture window graced the front, letting in what dim light there was. Empty, dusty shelving, an abandoned counter with an old-time cash register still in place greeted her. She ran toward the front door near the large smudged window, hoping it was not bolted shut.

“Hold it right there!” a voice from behind her warned.

Chloe spun around, gun in hand aiming it at the shadowed form that found her. A few more men in pursuit entered the room behind the first man. Chloe stood her ground against them, panting. If she didn’t vomit now, maybe it would pass.

In that instant, the crystalline crashing noises of a window smashing diverted her attention. He exploded into the room, feet first, a green blur before her eyes, swinging from a zip line, flying shards of shattered glass in his wake. He rolled to the floor springing up suddenly, coming up shooting, firing arrow after arrow. Men dropped before her eyes. He called for Impulse, Boy Scout and Aquaman to help round up the others.

Chloe kept her gun raised and her eyes on the some of the men who had now scattered, crouched low, finding hiding spots among the dusty shelves. “You always did love a grand entrance,” she called to him, amused, firing off a shot at one of the bad guys. She didn’t think she wounded anything but the shelf, however, if the pinging ricochet sound was anything to go by.

“Just trying to impress you,” he retorted with a smirk as he fired off another arrow, then easily flipped a charging assailant onto his back, and delivering a knockout blow to the downed man’s face. Oliver was silently proud of the way Chloe was handling herself at the moment. He was worried though. She looked pale and drained. “Is it working? Because I’m looking for a lifetime Sidekick.” Oliver spun, offering up a powerful roundhouse kick, dropping another attacker, and causing metal shelving to crash under the impact of the flying man’s weight.

“No way,” she teased, ducking behind the counter, as a returning shot was fired at her. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. The nausea seemed to have passed, and for that, she was eternally grateful. “I’m nobody’s Sidekick.” Chloe stuck her head out long enough to fire again in the direction where shots had been coming from, aimed at her, then ducked back into hiding.

“What if I were yours?” He queried over the noise, as he dove behind the nearest shelf, avoiding gunfire.

She smiled broadly in spite of the mayhem, taking place around her. “I’ll think about it,” she called out, not certain where he was in the room.

And then instantly, dust was swirling around the room, gusts of wind lifting her hair, cooling her heated skin, and all became silent.

“Chloe! Arrow!” It was Clark.

“We’ve rounded them all up.” Bart’s voice. “Pussy bald-headed Lex is gone, ran like a little girl.”

She was drained, relieved. Between the earlier nausea, and the adrenaline rush of her attempted escape, the ensuing gunfight, she’d begun to come down from all the excitement, deflating, sliding to the floor from her crouched position, and leaning against the side of the counter. Chloe felt gloved hands reaching for her, lifting her by the armpits from her hiding spot, until she stood on her feet. Strong arms enfolded her, holding her close against the length of his body, holding her upright. “You’ll think about it, huh?” A teasing, distorted voice sounded softly in her ear, his soft, warm lips, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Chloe leaned into him, breathed a welcoming lung-filling breath of leather, combined with the familiar scent that was uniquely Oliver Queen. Of course she’d marry him, right now in fact, but it was fun to make him sweat it out, just a little first. She’d tell him later.

**End Chapter 15**


	16. 16

**Déjà Vu  
Chapter 16  
**   


  


  


  


Her body lay sprawled, pleasantly exhausted atop his. Sheets a tangled mass around their feet. Hands intermittently skimming and sliding, over smooth skin. God it was so good, and only seemed to get better. Every time. He knew her body as well as his own, knew just how to touch her and bring her to the most exquisite heights. She knew her way around him too, and loved to witness his utter surrender to the touch of her hands and mouth and body. Oliver was a generous lover, catering to her every physical and emotional need. Chloe enjoyed returning his attention, marveling at her own ability to render this big, strong hero defenseless with pleasure. Chloe vaguely wondered… no, hoped it would still be half this good between them many, many years from now.

Her eyelids felt heavy and she let them slide closed as she snuggled against him. “I have to admit, that was pretty smokin’ cool,” she murmured out of the blue, her face buried against his throat, inhaling deeply of him. Soft fingertips floated gently over his shoulder and down to his collarbone.

Oliver too, closed his eyes at how she felt against his flesh, warm and soft against him. He was never more content than when they were like this, languid bodies lying pressed together after lovemaking, satisfied, drowsy lovers. His hands seemed everywhere on her body, soothing her heated skin, causing goose flesh to rise wherever he touched. “What was?” he asked softly.

“The way you burst in through the picture window and came up shooting. It was like watching some kind of edge-of-your-seat action flick.”

Oliver chuckled, deep in his chest. “So I did impress you after all.” One hand stroked the hair from her cheek, while the other slid lazily down her spine.

“Oh yes, definitely. You were amazing. Just don’t let it go to your head, green bean, or I’ll deny everything.”

He playfully squeezed the soft rounded flesh of her butt and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “See? That’s why I need you,” he spoke against her hair. “You keep me grounded. Besides, you weren’t so bad yourself.”

She moved her leg upward, sliding it more securely over his hip. Doubtful it was the movement, it was those darned hormones, but Chloe suddenly felt a rush of dizziness, worse than before. Nausea washed over her like a tidal wave this time, causing her to spring up from the comfort of Oliver’s arms, and make a mad dash for the nearby bathroom.

Wordlessly, Oliver was somehow there bending over her, threading his fingers into her golden hair, gathering it and lifting it away from her face, then clasping it in one hand, and rubbing her back gently with the other as she vomited. He felt bad for her. Part of this was his doing after all. This was a new experience for both of them, and here would begin his education in life lessons with a pregnant woman. His pregnant woman.

Chloe coughed and sputtered. Then it seemed to be over. She flushed it down. “Yes,” she ground out, bracing her hands on her knees, red-faced, her eyes watery, vision blurred as she focused on the swirling water in the toilet bowl in front of her, gasping for breath.

Oliver hadn’t recalled asking her anything just then. “Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she managed in a strangled voice, then without warning, Chloe heaved again. Apparently her stomach was not empty enough.

Oliver couldn’t help but smile, just a little. “Somehow this isn’t the quite the way I imagined you’d accept my marriage proposal.” When he thought she was finished, he handed her several tissues, then began caressing her back and shoulders once more.

Chloe wiped her face, and blew her nose, laughing in spite of her predicament. “It’s totally romantic, Ollie,” she said to the toilet, still hunched over. “It’s two o’clock in the morning. You’re standing here completely naked, holding my hair back and comforting me while I’m barfing my guts out. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.” Satisfied that this bout of morning sickness was over, she took a few calming breaths and straightened slowly, as though testing whether or not the movement would cause another wave of nausea. Finding that it didn’t, she turned, easing into the comfort of his waiting arms, clutching him about the waist, snuggling against his body, sighing contentedly as she pressed her cheek against his chest. “My own hero,” she whispered against his warm flesh. “I love you.”

Oliver held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. “And you’re mine,” he confessed. “You’ve saved me in more ways than I can ever count, Chloe Sullivan.”

* * * * * *

Lex swiveled in his office chair, cell phone pressed to his ear. “And I’m telling you, it will have to wait. I’ve got investigators breathing down my neck…”

“You’ll have more trouble than that Mr. Luthor. The Green Arrow and his buddies delivered over half of my men to the authorities. Kidnapping is a federal offense. Now, I’ll forget about the Green Arrow as long as you make good on your payment. Consider it reimbursement for the loss of my men, and I’ll call it even.”

Lex hesitated, remaining silent on the line. He’d gotten himself in between both cops and robbers, and he was feeling the squeeze of each side. Lex tugged at the collar of his blue dress shirt to loosen it, as though suffocating from the pressure.

“I thought you were a smarter businessman than that, Mr. Luthor.” The man’s voice continued. “This Green Arrow is more trouble than he’s worth. But I get the feeling this is personal between the two of you, and that’s bad business. My advice? Sometimes it’s best to cut your losses while you’re still ahead of the game. Nothing personal, just business; that’s the way I like to keep it. Pay up, or you’ll have more to worry about from me than any cops sniffing around, got it? You want my guys to take the rap on a kidnapping charge for you, you gotta pay. Big time. It’s just business.”

The man hung up the phone, leaving Lex to sit defeated at his desk. He undid his tie, and loosened the top buttons of his shirt. Getting up, he stepped over to his mini bar, pouring himself a drink. Damned mob. He hated dealing with them, and realized his mistake too late. He’d have to pay if he wanted to keep his name out of everything. He’d have to lay low for a while too, until this whole thing with the Met U research wing blew over, he’d have to leave the Green Arrow alone for now. Damn.

Lex lifted his glass to his lips, taking a slow sip of amber liquid, relishing the burn as it slid down his throat. He could be patient when he needed to be. He’d find a way to get the Green Arrow eventually. Yes, it was personal, but that was his business.

* * * * * *

The Green Arrow had to lay low as well. There was still a chance Lex could connect him to Oliver Queen and both to Chloe. All during the kidnapping trial he remained her invisible support, unable to show himself in public with her. Of course, Lex’s hands were clean, his name never mentioned, and Oliver knew he must have paid the mob dearly for taking the fall. And it was likely that a few bribes to officials and back room deals were made as well. After the trial was over, and what could loosely be called justice was served, Oliver secretly whisked her away. Only the League knew of their whereabouts.

At first she balked at the idea of leaving, it was probably their first real argument. But he’d convinced her to see it his way. She saw it as running away, and refused to hide from Lex or anyone else but ultimately, she knew it was for the best, for their safety. She had to promise Lois they’d return long before the baby was due. Most of their time away was spent in a furnished Italian villa in Tuscany. It was a peaceful two-story stone cottage, with bright, airy interiors, and living areas with terracotta floors that opened to sunny terraces and a lovely view of rolling farmlands. Oliver was still able to run his business, and delegated much of his work to his associates. He’d made certain that when he did have to make a rare public appearance that he was seen and photographed, but he was always alone, causing a bit of speculation and rumor about his love life, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, back home, in order to continue to keep Lex from connecting the Green Arrow to Oliver Queen, Clark and A.C. took a few turns donning the green costume, making some headlines in various parts of the country.

Chloe loved Tuscany, and her time with Oliver, but she was homesick. Nearing her fifth month of pregnancy, and just when she thought she’d go mildly insane, hormones raging, missing her home, her cousin, her life, Oliver surprised her after she’d returned from an afternoon walk to find her father there. She was ecstatic upon seeing him, and somehow she knew Oliver had sensed her melancholy, and arranged the entire visit just for her. Gabe Sullivan spent a week with them. Chloe didn’t know for certain, but she’d guessed that Oliver had asked her father’s permission to marry her when Gabe gave them his blessing, calling Oliver ‘son’ the morning he left for the states.

It was afterward, alone on the bedroom terrace, as they watched the Tuscan sunset, that he proposed to her in what he believed was proper fashion, presenting her with a diamond that was simple and elegant and beautiful. It was her, Oliver thought. She laughed at first, realizing her error at thinking he was about to tie his shoe, then, seeing the boyish, earnest sincerity and love on his face as he gazed up at her and asked the question, her hand flew to her mouth in shock. Laughter mingled with tears, and then probably like most newly engaged women, she gazed adoringly at the ring on her finger, turning it this way and that, admiring the way it sparkled, catching the remaining light of the setting sun through her tear-blurred vision. She loved it, it was perfect. Not gaudy or extravagant. He knew exactly what to give her.

He carried her to their bed, undressed her with tender hands, and made love to her, all at once both passionate and sweet. Afterward, he touched and stroked and soothed her. His hand palmed her breast gently. “It’s amazing,” he whispered against the curve of her throat, as he lay nestled beside her, breathing a soft kiss under her ear, making her shudder and sigh. Oliver’s hand slid softly down between her breasts, and over the small rise of her womb. Gradually, he’d noticed the changes. Her breasts felt fuller, her belly beginning to protrude. “The way your body is changing.” Oliver slid down the length of the bed, moving over her. His head came to rest over her belly, pressing his cheek softly against her stomach, and then touching his lips there reverently. “You’re beautiful, Chloe,” he whispered, continuing to move his hands over her intimately, his eyes lifted to hers, darkening with renewed desire. Her heart nearly burst with love for him. Only Oliver Queen had ever made her feel beautiful.

Chloe rose up on her elbows, smiling down at him. “Let’s see if you still think that when I’m at nine months, huge and waddling everywhere and about to pop,” she laughed lightly, reaching for him, and threading her fingers into the soft, spiky strands of his hair.

Oliver addressed her stomach, his fingers splayed over his unborn child. “Tell your mom I’ll always think she’s beautiful,” he said to the small rise of belly next to his face. “I don’t think she believes me.” His brows knit, his head tipping to the side as though listening for some sound. “What’s that?” He pressed his ear to her stomach.

Chloe giggled.

“He… uh, or she… says you’re quite stubborn, but that I shouldn’t give up.”

“You’re dad is crazy,” Chloe playfully warned her belly.

Oliver slid up slowly, his skin whispering seductively against hers, as he gently covered her body with his, easing her back into the mattress. “Crazy about you,” he whispered, taking her mouth urgently, fitting himself snugly into the V of her thighs, already fully aroused for her, desire pulsing through his rock hard, velvety flesh, wanting, needing her again. His thick ridge nudged against her clit with delicious friction. Moaning softly against his mouth, Chloe tilted her hips to receive him, rocking her lower body against his. Oliver lifted her as he entered her, sheathing himself inside her silken heat, giving her more, giving her all of himself. How could she doubt him? This was her Oliver, and once committed to something, he never did anything halfway, and Chloe knew in her heart that he’d always give her all of himself.

They spent three more months abroad before returning quietly to Metropolis for the wedding. Looking back, Chloe was glad they had spent time away and experienced some semblance of a normal life. It had given them a chance to live together and grow closer, more accustomed to one another without the craziness of their usual lives as Green Arrow and Watchtower. Everyone noticed the change in them. It was nearly impossible to hide. So in-sync and in tuned with one another, anyone could see they were a couple in love, causing Lois to joke that they acted as though they’d already been married for years.

Oliver had been right. The tabloids were not kind. Surprisingly they could also do the math, and estimated the timing correctly. A reprinted picture of them from their date at _Le Bistro_ was slapped onto the gossip pages of the **_Inquisitor_**, with a blurb that contained rumors of an upcoming hushed, rushed shotgun wedding.

“My dad doesn’t even own a shotgun,” Chloe wrinkled her nose at the one paragraph mention. “At least I don’t think.” She said, tossing the paper onto the counter in front of her.

Oliver did his best to squash any gossip columns before they ever made it to print, and they had done a fairly good job of staying out of the public eye. This short piece showed up, claiming the playboy billionaire was literally caught with his pants down, and was being played by an out of work reporter.

Oliver had been sitting next to her after breakfast, reading over her shoulder, his hand placed on her stomach, waiting to feel the next kick or roll against his palm. He would swear his baby was either a gymnast or a kick boxer in the making. The buzzer sounded, and Oliver rose from his seat at the counter. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You can play with me while my pants are down anytime, Watchtower babe,” he said, waggling his eyebrows comically as he stepped toward the security monitor, making her roll her eyes and laugh. “Chloe, I think this visitor is for you,” he called to her.

Chloe slid from the stool, placing a hand at the small of her back, stretching briefly, then stepping over to his desk. She really needed to stop sitting in those for longer than a few minutes. “Oh my God!” she cried peering into the screen over his arm. “Let her in!”

Chloe hastened to the elevator door and as it opened, she squealed with delight, and threw her arms around Marianne. She looked different, Chloe thought. She wore a bit of make-up, had lost some weight, her brown eyes sparkled, her dark brown hair was different, long and loose instead of pulled back into a bun the way Chloe was used to seeing her. She looked youthful and happy.

“It’s true then,” Marianne said smiling over Chloe’s shoulder as they embraced warmly, Chloe’s belly coming between them. “What are you now? Seven, eight months?”

Chloe beamed at her friend, patting her belly. “Not quite eight.”

Marianne touched Chloe’s chin in motherly fashion. “You okay?” she asked quietly, searching Chloe’s eyes.

Chloe’s smile was genuine. “Never better.” She clasped Marianne’s hand, leading her toward Oliver, who stood watching them from behind his desk. “Ollie, this is Marianne, she’s my fairy godmother.”

Oliver smiled warmly, taking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve never actually met a real fairy godmother before.”

Marianne blushed. “Oh well, you know we don’t like word to get around about us. Takes away all the fun.”

“If it weren’t for Marianne, we wouldn’t have had our date. She sort of snuck me out of the mansion that day.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Oliver said.

Marianne waved it off. “Pfft. It was nothing a little fairy dust couldn’t handle, and okay a few little white lies.” She shrugged. “I just wanted to see Chloe happy, she deserves it. She’s a good girl, Mr. Queen.” She turned to Chloe. “Lots changed after you left. Everyone missed you. I hope you don’t mind my visit, but after I saw the paper, that whole kidnapping thing, then you disappeared, well… I had to see that you were all right. You know me, I can be nosy. Can’t help myself sometimes.”

“I’m thrilled that you came to see me, and I’m very happy, Marianne.”

“I can see that, and I know I talked about blonde babies, but goodness, I didn’t think it would happen after one date.”

Chloe glanced at Oliver, a question in her eyes, and he simply nodded. It was okay to tell her. She pulled Marianne over to the sofa, offering her a seat and some refreshment, and began to explain the whole thing, minus the experiments, and Green Arrow and Justice League bits. Chloe told her that she and Oliver had been together for six months before her memory loss. Told her about Lex taking her in, Oliver trying to get her back, trying to get her to remember him.

“That explains a lot, actually,” Marianne mused after Chloe had finished her story. “Mr. Luthor seemed to go downhill after you left, worse than before. I thought maybe he had a thing for you or something, but now I think he became involved in some bad deals. Money troubles. Let a lot of us go, budget cuts he said.”

“Oh no, you were fired?”

Marianne smiled. “Yes, but it’s fine. I’ll find another job. Besides, while you were off elsewhere, Cinderella, I was having some kind of fairy tale of my own.” Her cheeks colored slightly. “After you left, Mr. Luthor hired some new security men. One particularly handsome young man was always making excuses to come into the kitchen.” She laughed girlishly. “Well, you know… I thought… wow, Michael… that’s his name, must really like my cooking. He would come in for a snack, and we’d talk for hours after his shift was over, and well it turns out he liked me. I thought… gah, what is he, like 28? 30? I must have a good fifteen years on him, he’s young, he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” She shrugged. “But he convinced me to go out with him once and well, here we are six months later, and he insists he’s crazy about me. Who am I to argue? It worked for Demi and Ashton, right?”

Chloe laughed with her, squeezing her hand, happy for her friend. “Why not? Go for it,” she encouraged. “You deserve to be happy too.”

Marianne’s smile faded for a moment, as she looked away. “Life throws us all kinds of curve balls. You know, I never told you. My husband died after we’d only been married five years, and after that, I thought I’d be alone forever. And I was alone for a long time.” She looked up at Chloe again, her eyes bright. “After all these years, I never expected to find love again.” She squeezed Chloe’s hand in return. “I’m glad you’ve found yours.” Marianne stood up, readying to leave. She gazed fondly at both of them. “I see you’re in good hands here, and I feel better knowing that.”

Marianne hugged Chloe goodbye, and didn’t let Oliver off the hook, giving him a bear hug as well. “Take care of each other,” she said as she left.

When the elevator doors shut, Chloe turned to him.

“I like her,” he said with a grin.

“She’s wonderful, isn’t she? And she’s a fabulous cook.”

They gazed at each other for a long moment in unspoken communication.

Oliver took a few steps, closing the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “You want me to hire her,” he stated simply, divining her thoughts.

“If she’d move to Star City.”

“I suppose I could use a new member of the security team at Queen Manor. I’d have to meet him, and have the guy thoroughly checked out first. If he was working for Lex, I can’t be too careful, you know.”

Chloe gave him an affectionate squeeze, as much as she could with her stomach wedged between them. “I know. And thank you, Ollie.”

The buzzer sounded again, and Oliver grinned. “That’ll be Lois, right on time. Ready for our exclusive coming out story?”

Chloe smiled up at him. “I’m ready.”

* * * * *

“I’m disappointed in you, Chloe.” Lex dropped the latest edition of the **_Daily Planet_** onto his desk. She’d disappeared for a while, and if Lois’s story were true, this would explain it. Oliver Queen had fucked Chloe Sullivan and knocked her up. He expected as much from Queen, who had a reputation as a ladies’ man, but Chloe didn’t seem the type to swoon and fall prey to charming one-liners, seductive grins, and bedroom eyes. She was smarter than that, and too good for Queen. He snorted derisively, wondering if Oliver was marrying her just to keep the Queen family name respectable without the mark of a bastard child to soil it. The Queens were old money, and that kind of thing would have been important to Oliver’s parents, though Lex wasn’t certain how important it was to Oliver.

Lois’s article portrayed them as the loving couple, who had kept their relationship secret until now, but Lex wasn’t buying it. The accompanying color photograph showed a very pregnant Chloe sitting on the floor between Oliver’s legs, her back resting against him, his arms wrapped around her middle from behind, both of them laughing. Queen knew how to play the press for sure. Over the past few months Oliver had appeared in various places around the globe, always photographed sans the usual arm candy. But there was no way he was marrying Chloe for love. She was simply another conquest that had gone awry. It would have caught up to him eventually. A feel-good article like this would endear them both to the public, however, and that’s exactly what Queen wanted. Lex picked up the paper again, gazing at the photograph. Oliver’s hand was splayed over the white blouse that covered her belly, Chloe’s hand resting atop his, her engagement ring visible. Lex smirked. No, they didn’t fool him. He tossed the newspaper into the trash bin. He had other things to worry about besides Oliver Queen.

Over the past few months the Green Arrow had been making the rounds again in various states, pulling his Robin Hood act. Thankfully though, he’d stayed away from Luthorcorp. Lex couldn’t afford any more attempts at sabotage courtesy of the Emerald Archer. It would take a while to recoup his losses, but when he did, he’d come back stronger than ever and he’d resume his hunt for the Green Arrow with a vengeance.

* * * * *

  
The wedding was a small, quiet affair held at the Kent farm. Chloe thought it fitting that they were married in the gardens at the place where it had all begun over three years ago.

Clark found her in the barn, dressed in her simple ivory-laced, A-line, ankle-length wedding dress that hid her most of her petite figure. She looked out of place dressed as she was, among the horses and hay. Fading sunlight filtering through the barn caught the shimmering dust particles around her, making her seem otherworldly. He simply studied her, as she was unaware of his presence, seemingly lost in thought as her gaze wandered, then settled on the steps leading to his loft. Clark almost wished that one of his powers was to read minds at this moment.

“I was just thinking,” she said before turning toward him, surprising Clark. How had she known he was there? Chloe offered him a small sweet smile. “Of the day I met Oliver here. And wondering how I could have ever had that moment erased from my memory.”

Clark returned her smile, his eyes softening, speech failing him. She was absolutely, stunningly beautiful.

“Funny how things have changed since then, huh?” She asked him, then clasping her left hand, she glanced down at her wedding ring; thumb tracing over the gold band and brilliant diamond engagement ring thoughtfully. “Never in a million years…if someone had told me that day, that I had just met my husband, I never would have believed it.”

Clark took a few steps toward her. “Stranger things have happened. Look at Lois and me. Who’d ever have thought that would happen?”

She smiled up at him. “You’re talking to a person who’s an expert on all things strange. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. Seems Lois and I have traded first loves.”

“When you put it that way, I guess it is pretty funny. You’re my best friend, Chloe, and I love you, and your happiness is all I’ve ever wanted.” Clark’s eyes fell to the bump under her dress, his brows knit, focusing.

“Thank you, Clark. That means more to me than you know.” She noticed what he was doing. “Hey. And no x-rays. Oliver and I want to be surprised.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Too late, I already know.”

“Well, don’t tell me.” She said, picking off a piece of imaginary lint from his dark suit, then smoothing down the lapel with her palm.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Queen?” Their attention was diverted to the tall, powerfully built, new security member, who’d entered the barn. The handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed young man, continued. “Marianne says it’s time for cutting the cake. She sent me to find you.”

Chloe smiled at him, slipping her arm through Clark’s, leading him toward the door. “Thanks, Michael. It will be a shame to cut up that gorgeous wedding cake she’s made.”

“She’s quite proud of it, but she’ll be happier when she sees everyone eating it,” Michael returned her smile, and then headed back toward the guests.

Just before they’d exited the barn, Chloe turned to Clark. “Thank you, Clark. For everything.” She stood up on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek. She’d always love him, and what he’d said about wanting her happiness, she wished for him as well. She’d found the love of her life in Oliver Queen, and she hoped Clark had found his in Lois.

“Let's eat cake before Bart gets to it,” she laughed as they headed toward the party.

“What? No pie?”

Chloe gave him a mock reproving look.

Clark grinned. “Mmmm, cake.”

* * * * *

  
“Oliver.” Chloe nudged him gently. “Ollie.” She’d been up and dressed while he slept, pacing the darkened penthouse for the past hour. Contractions were first ten minutes apart, now eight minutes. She’d been walking them off. Chloe grimaced lightly as another one coursed through her, tightening in her belly, then like tentacles reaching, sensations spreading all the way to her toes. She breathed through it, then checked the clock. Five minutes. “Oliver Jonas Queen, wake up, your baby is coming.”

Oliver sprung up to a sitting position, his heart pounding wildly. “Wha.. huh? Baby? Baby’s coming.” He rubbed his eyes, swinging his long legs over the side of the bed, disoriented from deep sleep; he began to search for something to put on. Chloe stood watching him in amusement, as he fumbled about the bedroom, stark naked, “It’s okay,” he said reassuringly, his voice muffled as he stuffed his head into a black sleeveless t-shirt that was both inside out and backwards. “Everything will be all right, Sidekick,” he said again, nearly tripping as he hopped one-legged into his blue jeans, then slipped into shoes. He then stood silently in the middle of the room for a moment as though lost. “Keys. Hospital bag. Wife,” he mumbled, ticking off the list aloud, reminding himself of things he couldn’t leave the house without. He patted his pants, found his wallet on the dresser and stuffed it inside his back pocket.

He looked at Chloe, who stood silently smiling at him. Her smile never failed to comfort him and warm his heart, and this time was no exception, and he breathed deeply for the first time, grinning back at her. They gazed at one another for a long moment, the look that passed between them said it all. Each of them knowing they were on the precipice, about to take another life changing leap together. Oliver extended his hand to her, and she stepped toward him, taking his hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. As long as they were together, they could do anything.

He pulled her close. “Ready?” It was one simple word, but it meant so much more.

“Ready,” she whispered, before another contraction gripped her. Chloe clung to her husband until it passed, catching her breath. He then led her to the elevator door, grabbing up the hospital bag on the way out.

Three hours and three pushes later, Mr. and Mrs. Queen welcomed a baby girl into their lives. They named her Laura, after Oliver’s mother. One look at the tiny sleeping bundle in his arms, and he knew. “I’m in big trouble.”

  
**The End**

  


  


  



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